Written In The Stars
by gilmoregirl1979
Summary: BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! What if LL hooked up when they first met? Explores LLR ships evolving into a real family, COMPLETE! WHAT SHE ACTUALLY FINISHED ONE! CRACK WHORES ACROSS THE GLOBE FAINT! THE Story Continues in WITS II.
1. She Makes An Impression

**Insert Strong Bad voice:  
Like a Phoenix, from the ashes **

**...she rises again!**

**In honor of the 10th anniversary of my 16th birthday (wow I'm old!) I've updated not one not two but 3 yes ladies and gents count em 3 stories one never before published and why? Cause I love my crack whores!) **

**Written in the Stars (if you have a better play on title let me know...)  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. WE just use the Gilmore Girls dolls during our slumber parties…. It's fun (shirtless Luke: with coffee pouring action, and the "Fry it and Buy it" Luke's Diner Play Set sold separately!)**

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.)**

**Luvz: Hey BABY, I am so stupid to start this, ... why do I put myself through this... oh right for THE PEOPLE! I forgot!**

**Summary/ The Q: What if LL hooked up when they first met? A bonafied woulda What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
Chapter 1:  
She Makes An Impression **

**(Stars Hollow, 1996 ... with an ish)**

Sometimes Luke Danes really hated the food service business. The way people eat, how picky certain people were with their "on the side" Sally Albright mentality, not to mention open mouth eaters or poor tippers, or annoying families taking over three tables. Other times he really loved it. Nice people, when Taylor wasn't around. He got to cook, which he was really good at, and most importantly he got to work right were his dad did.

Today was So-So with his affection for "the biz". It was only Lunch, and it was crowded with Ben in the kitchen, and Luke on the front lines to tend to the hungry mob.

"OH MY GOD, I NEED COFFEE!" some one shouted above the noise.

Luke turned in the direction of the young woman who had just entered the diner. She saw him with the Coffee Pot, and she headed straight for him. "You, with the pot, load me up?"

"Are you sure that's wise?" hyped up as she was, _who knows what she might do with more of this crap in her system._

"You don't understand, I'm having a bad day, I've had the day of days, this is the worst day ever, this is like Stock market crash bad, the day the music died bad."

"The day is not even over yet," Luke countered.

"Please, don't mess with me," she narrowed her eyes to prove how serious she was.

"Look, there were other people who were in here before you," Luke observed.

"But I'm the one closest to you now?"

"Order up," Ben called.

Luke tried to get away from her but this crazy woman followed, "Where are you going?" loyally following wherever the coffee pot went.

Luke returned the coffee pot to the machine, "I'm serving my customers, who have been waiting a lot longer than you."

Still on his trail, the coffee addict deduced, "But if you had just given me coffee when I asked for it, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I would have already been served, you would have one less customer to worry about, and I wouldn't be following you around like this."

Luke was picking up the plates from the pass through and nearly dropped them when he bummed into her behind the counter. "Customers are not aloud behind the counter," He growled.

"I'm not a customer yet, I haven't gotten my order."

"Get on the other side of my counter and stop following me." Luke set the plates in front of their respective consumers.

"Give me my coffee and I won't have to follow you around."

Luke finally had to tell this person, "You are being annoying."

She only smiled, "Yes, I know, I excel at it," happy that he had noticed.

With his thumb gesturing toward the counter, Luke commanded, "Sit down, shut up, I'll get to you when I get to you."

This young woman narrowed her eyes, "That, my friend, is coming out of your tip." She reluctantly sat at the counter. While Luke handled his other orders and customers, he was purposefully avoiding the annoying young woman.

"Can I be helped now?" she whined, after only five minutes of his avoidance.

"No," as he dropped off a tuna melt to the gentleman next to her.

"How do you make any money like this?" and when Luke walked away, he over heard her ask the gentleman with the tuna melt for a section of his paper. _Good,_ Luke thought, _she'll read the damn paper and leave me alone_.

Luke went behind the counter again to get some extra napkins for a lady whose kid had made a mess of him self with his ketchup, and suddenly there was a tapping on his arm. Luke looked up to see the young woman asking him "Hey, when's your birthday?"

It was the first time Luke had gotten a real good look at her. Without the desperate frenzy of servitude, he could finally see that she was, for lack of a better word, beautiful. The first thing that struck him was her bright blue eyes and dark curls. Luke realized he should say something and he couldn't stop himself from disclosing "uuhh Nov 6th?"

"Thanks" was all she said, and went back to her paper.

The spell now broken Luke shook his head to be rid of its effects, and went back to his duties. A few minutes later Luke was behind the counter again and the woman got his attention, this time he approached her almost shy, and inwardly cursing his rude behavior toward her before.

"I have something for you" she said with a smile, and she handed him a scrap bit of paper she had torn from the newspaper she had been reading.

The paper was Luke's horoscope for the day, and under Scorpio, the beautiful woman had written _"You will meet an annoying woman today. Give her coffee and she'll go away."_ Luke had to grin at how clever and determined she was for the simple brown sludge he served, merely because it was a common beverage the people wanted. With what little courage he could muster, he began to stare those blue eyes down, determined not to blink, put a mug in front of her and poured out her desired pick-me-up for her bad day. She looked even more beautiful victorious as she sipped her winnings.

_DAMN, that is one exceptional cup of coffee. I may have to marry him._ Another customer stole his attention, and she noticed the coffee serving baseball cap guy left the horoscope on the counter, so the Coffee Fiend saved the scrap from being discarded. When she finished her coffee fix, she made it a point to hand the scrap to the baseball-capped guy again when she paid. "Hey, you might want to hang on to this, put it your wallet, carry it around," she shrugged her shoulders, "one day it may bring you good luck," and with that the mystery woman was gone.

_It already has_, Luke couldn't help but smile at the small bit of paper in his fingers, and he did as instructed. Luke tucked the paper into a small pocket of his dad's old leather wallet. Then Luke went into the kitchen, "Hey Ben I'll take over cooking," he longed for the monotonous routine of flipping and frying, something he did automatically so he could focus on her, focus on the scrap burning a hole in his wallet.

**77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
A/N: COMMENT on Title: who likes Jem and the Holograms? **

**She makes an impression, wherever she goes  
She makes an impression; it's more than her clothes  
She makes an impression, you bet you won't forget!**

A/N: is this worth my effort? If you like, I may continue, R/R and tell me so… 

**PS Suggestions are good too… I have oodles of ideas…. But PM/RR away, you never know… **

**77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 **

**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund …**


	2. I Met Someone

**Insert Strong Bad voice:  
Like a Phoenix, from the ashes **

**...she rises again!**

**Written in the Stars (if you have a better play on title let me know...)  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. WE just use the Gilmore Girls dolls during our slumber parties…. It's fun (shirtless Luke: with coffee pouring action, and the "Fry it and Buy it" Luke's Diner Play Set sold separately!) **

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: What if LL hooked up when they first met? A bonafied woulda What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**Luvz: Hey BABY, I am so stupid to start this ... why do I put myself through this... oh right for THE PEOPLE! I forgot! **

**Enjoy chap 2 Crack WHORES See reviews for HELLO CRACK WHORE SEGMENTS:**

**A/N: I'm no good at math (Verbal is my thing); please tell me if my dates or ages are suddenly screwy… **

**77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777**

Chapter 2:  
I Met Someone 

Luke was now hoping the mystery woman would come back. He would actually catch himself looking for her. She definitely made an impression on the usually gruff, no nonsense diner man. He didn't know who she was or where she came from, but she was different from any other woman he'd tried to talk to before, and he didn't even know her name yet.

After a week of anticipation, with a jingle from the bells above the door, she entered the diner again. Luke decided to ease into talking to her; maybe see if she would be "annoying" again.

And she was.

Lorelai recognized him right away, and playfully teased, "Hey, what do I have to do to get my cup of coffee today? Juggle, a high wire act, maybe? Are you in the mood for the dance of the seven veils?" _Oh My God, was that out loud?_

Luke shot back, "Sit down and be quiet," forced to hide his smile by looking down at his order pad.

She took mock offense to that. "Well, my strategy last time seemed to work, maybe I should just keep talking till I annoy you into submission?" as she put her purse on a vacant stool and sat at the counter.

"I guess it will have to be a battle of wills then," Luke said still trying and failing to conceal his smug smirk, happy that she had returned to his diner.

Always ready to jump into a quote, Lorelai straightened herself up, and unblinkingly said, "… Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the goblin city. To take back the child you have stolen. For my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom is as great; you have no power over me."

"What?" Luke was now very confused, much like he was the first day when she had been shooting her mouth off.

"Labyrinth, David Bowie? My da …uh friends and I … love that movie," _Watch it Gilmore!_

Luke let the obscure reference go; only wanting their conversation to continue for as long as possible. "Is he the one who dresses like a pirate?"

She had to laugh at how clueless he was… she liked that, and she corrected, "space man,"_ Though he did have a little pirate going on in Labyrinth._

"Ahh" and the conversation already ran out of steam _Damn,_ "… so just the coffee today?"

"You caved already? I didn't even break a sweat? Where's the fun in that? I may have to speak to your manager."

_I'd like that, _"Well, my business relies on good word of mouth, what would happen if you told all your friends about the bad customer service…" _you might not come back again._

The girl decided to take a chance, "Oh is that what this is, I'd call it flirting," She enjoyed how he tinged red in his cheeks as he couldn't even look at her. She took a sip from the cup he had placed in front of her. _The coffee is still good, so is the view._

"I've got other … people … to check on." Luke hated how his face started to feel warmer, and prayed she didn't notice.

"I'll be here. I'm still thinking about what I want."_ That could so be taken the wrong way, woaw slow down missy!_

Luke cleared his throat nervously and made his rounds with the coffee pot.

Lorelai couldn't believe it. She was blatantly flirting with this … coffee guy, and if she was not mistaken he had been flirting back. One thing was for certain, he was fast, and could keep up with her rapid-fire wit, but at the same time he was slightly clueless, just waiting to be molded and educated in the ways of moviedom and music. _The poor man, would my mother count that as charity work? Broadening the horizons of a humble waiter, well a handsome waiter. _Lorelai watched him as he checked on his customers, refilled mugs and took new orders. She thought he couldn't be that much older than her. She was thinking other things she probably shouldn't be thinking of about a random coffee guy she just met. Thinking things she shouldn't be thinking when she was 27… with a kid.

It had been a while since Lorelai dated. _I think Rory's conception was the last date I had_. She couldn't remember the last time she had flirted with a guy, _maybe to get out of a ticket or to get an extra day for a movie rental._ Somehow, seeing Mr. Flannel Clad make his way around the diner in his nice fitting jeans, Lorelai knew it was worth the wait.

However, she almost let it slip about Rory, her daughter. That could have been disastrous. Granted she loved Rory and loved being a mom. However, many guys frowned on that,_ they didn't even frown, they just bolted; _it wasn't like she was looking for a new daddy for Rory. Lorelai only wanted a companion for herself, like everyone wants._ A partner, someone special to spend time with, to care about … maybe even, one day, love._

Lorelai gave her romantic diversion a reality check. _That is not to say that this … coffee guy, with his backwards baseball hat and nice fitting jeans is "the one". But how am I to get to "the one" if I don't start interviewing contenders._

"Did you think about what you want?"

_You. _"Huh?" and Lorelai was snapped out of her daydreaming now that Mr. Backwards Baseball Hat had returned.

"To go with your coffee?" he asked.

"Oh umm… do you have Jelly doughnuts?" suddenly feeling embarrassed by her hopeless romantic thoughts.

"Yeah"

"Could I have 6 please?"

"6? Just for you?"

"Ummmm no," she said in a not too convincing tone_, Oh God he thinks I'm a pig_. "Some of the girls at work might want them…" _even though it is my day off,_ but he didn't need to know that yet.

"Do you have a preference?"

"Ummm blueberry and raspberry, and another coffee for me… to go," _that's right Gilmore; you meet a great guy and run._ She continued to watch him as he loaded up a bag with her doughnuts; she just had to know, "What's your name?"

He was taken off guard by the abrupt segue, "what?"

"Well, I already know your birthday, your name, please…" trying to reclaim the upper hand while he was off balance.

"Ummm… Luke."

"Luke?" _I know that name,_ "As in Luke's diner?" _Oh My God, I'm flirting with the owner._

"As in Luke's diner," He nodded and repeated, handing her the Luke's Diner bag. Since they were introducing themselves, "and you are…"

Now she started to blush, and she smiled, "Lorelai."

"Nice to meet you … Lorelai." he nodded; now he had a name for the face. _Lorelai, Geez even her name is beautiful._

_Finally a guy who says my full name, Not Lor, not Lorrie; Well, we'll see how long that lasts… _"I'll be back again, seems like a really nice place."

"See you then…" _and looking forward to it. _

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Lorelai wore a broad smile the entire way home. _Luke._

As she entered her house, affectionately named The Crap Shack, she was greeted with an enthusiastic, "Mom!"

"Hey Angel, I brought doughnuts."

"Can I have coffee today?" Rory asked, seeing the cup in her mother's hand.

"Honey, what would all those parenting magazines say if I gave you Coffee?" _It'll stunt your growth or … something._

"That you should set a good example and if you didn't want me to have it, you shouldn't even bring it in the house?" the eleven year old smiled.

_Now how do you argue with that_, Lorelai considered her daughter's logic; "You're too smart for me."

"Please, ask Aunt Sookie, I didn't act up at all."

Lorelai smiled at her daughter, as she put her purse down on the floor by the door, "you never act up."

"Well then that consistent good behavior deserves a reward, don't you think, Sookie?"

"Sure, kitten." Sookie giggled and then stopped when she saw the look on Lorelai's face.

_Thanks for the help Sook!_ "I already got you doughnuts."

"Please?" Rory begged.

Always caving to those angel eyes, Lorelai conceded, "Okay … How about half of my coffee with some milk."

"Mom," Rory droned out, just knowing her mother was cheating her some how.

"Hey, that is how they drink their coffee in NY, they call it a latte."

"Really?"

"I swear on Starbucks. Sookie you are a chef, they don't drink anything but half and half lattes in New York."

Sookie agreed, trying to make up for her earlier blunder, "All the models, and Soap stars, and Robert Denrio too."

"Alright," Rory agreed, _if it's good enough for "Taxi Driver"…_

Lorelai mixed the "latte" for her daughter, with more milk than agreed upon. "Here you go."

"Thanks mom!" and Rory carefully took her latte in her favorite mug into the living room to get back to her book.

Sookie had to smile at her friend, "you know she's getting to that age when she can stay here by herself."

"Hey don't make my kid grow up too quickly. Next thing you'll be asking me what I'm doing with her room while she's at Harvard."

"Okay, okay… So how was your day off," Sookie asked.

_Luke._ "Good," Lorelai nodded.

"Did you find anything you liked?"

_Luke._ "Mm Hmmm," Lorelai smiled thinking of her exchange with the diner owner.

Sookie became curious as to why Lorelai had no shopping bags or at least a smart-ass comment about shopping in Stars Hollow, and then she noticed a new glint in her friend's eye, "Lorelai?"

Lorelai pulled Sookie out of Rory's earshot, "I met a guy," she whispered.

"Ooooo Lorelai, that's great."

"Keep it down," Lorelai checked the around the corner, to make sure Rory didn't hear.

"Who is he?"

Happy to have an adult friend like Sookie, to share this stuff with, Lorelai took a deep breath to suppress her own excitement. "His name is Luke, he owns the diner in town."

"Yeah, I know Luke."

"You know Luke?"

"Everyone knows Luke."

"I didn't know Luke? Why didn't I know Luke?"

"Well, he doesn't really participate in the town fanfare like we do. He's the one at the town meetings who protests the Revolutionary war reenactments every year."

_Luke is the town meeting grump?_ "That was him?"

"Yeah" Sookie smiled and nodded.

"Huh,"_ why did I never notice him before? _

"And now you like him?" Sookie teased in a teenager tone.

"Well, yeah I guess," Lorelai then tried to dismiss the whole thing, "… but this is bad"

"Why is this bad? You like him, I'm sure he's not blind, so he's bound to like you," Already thinking of what a great pair they would make.

"… But I can't date."

"Oh My God, Did he ask you out?" at this Sookie bounced up and down, now very excited; _I didn't think Luke had it in him._

"No," Lorelai was a little disappointed by that fact,_ to him I'm just an annoying customer, _"but he was flirting … sorta" a detail she quickly dismissed, "oh, he probably flirts with everyone."

"Man, you really don't know Luke," Sookie shook her head.

"What?"

"Well, in case you didn't notice from his town meeting rants, he's not the most sociable guy."

"Well, he did seem … I don't know … shy around me …" _That's … kinda cute,_ "… But even if he did ask me out, I'm a mom, how do I explain a date to Rory? She's only 11. I'm committed to her for at least 20 years."

"You can still be a good mom and have a social life."

"You think?" Lorelai asked hopefully.

"Sure." Sookie smiled with an encouraging tone.

Rory burst into the kitchen, "MOM!"

"Yeah Hon?" _we weren't talking about anything!_

"This is the best latte ever!" Rory exclaimed.

_Luke does make a strong cup of coffee._ Even through the milk Rory could pick up that clue, "That's great sweetie."

"And, I think Edmond Dantes is about to escape the Chateau Dif!"

"Also great," Lorelai forced a smile, hoping Rory didn't know what the adult girl talk was about, and loving how excited her brainy kid could be about a 150-year-old story she picked as her recreational read.

Sookie smiled as Rory went back into the living room unaware. "He made the coffee?"

"He does make really good Coffee," _he's like the perfect man._

"Perfect! The way to _your_ heart is through your cast iron stomach." Sookie smiled.

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A/N: writing young Rory is the hardest thing I've ever had to do...  
A/N: name that novel! Edmond Dantes is about to escape the Chateau Dif  
A/N: I don't know where I'm going with this, I'm indecisive that way. I'm like Kirk! You should see me when I try to buy shoes, not TRY... 

**77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777**

**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) at least specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund …**


	3. To The Rescue, Here Am I

**Insert Strong Bad voice:  
Like a Phoenix, from the ashes **

**...she rises again!**

**And now….**

**Written in the Stars (if you have a better play on title let me know...)  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. WE just use the Gilmore Girls dolls during our slumber parties…. It's fun (shirtless Luke: with coffee pouring action, and the "Fry it and Buy it" Luke's Diner Play Set sold separately!)**

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: What if LL hooked up when they first met? A bonafied woulda What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…?**

**Luvz: OH MY GOD! I SOOOOOOO MISSED YOU, TOO!**

**77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777**

**Chapter 3:  
To The Rescue, Here Am I**

"Damn IT! Stupid car!" although deep down Lorelai knew that kicking a flat tire would not help magically re-inflate it. _What is it they say, most accidents happen within 5 miles of the home? So what? Auto Failure is 5 blocks! _She then went back to thinking about her hot shower and how nice it would be to wash the day away, of course the cool start to March also increased her wish to be home and warm.

Lorelai was stranded on Plum St, one block from Peach and the center of town, four blocks away from her home and her nice hot shower, four blocks from washing away another horrible day. She could just walk home, she would make good time given the cold, and the exercise might warm her up, but that would cost money because Taylor might have her car towed because there is no parking for longer than 15 minutes at this time of day,_ because rules are rules; no exceptions,_ she heard his snide voice already, _Who wants to pay 50 dollars for a hot shower? _She could walk to Luke's, for a coffee and pie pick me up, and maybe Luke knows his way around cars as well as a stove, but she didn't want him to see her like this. Sticky and gross from a day of washing and ironing linens, in her jean shorts and old t-shirt that she had changed into so she wouldn't have to go home looking like a maid in her uniform. No doubt ready with a lecture on dressing weather appropriate. _I'm the junior assistant manager, well sort of. _Lorelai was in training three times a week to take over for the concierge who was going on maternity leave in two months. _Stupid unreliable Judy for calling in Sick … so she says! When I get a promotion, I'm so using my pull to get her fired._ However, Lorelai was a team player, so she volunteered for a shift as a humble maid when Judy, a completely unreliable employee, called in "sick", and Mia was short handed. Mia had encouraged Lorelai to start in the management-training program even before Carly got pregnant.

Lorelai was a junior assistant manager in name only; she was really an everywoman of the hospitality industry. Lorelai would play hostess in the dining room, was regularly apart of the event staff for weddings and functions at the Inn, even coordinated some events by herself with much acclaim from clients and Mia, yet she still had to dawn the maid uniform from time to time, if Mia really needed help. Lorelai liked her exciting schedule, it kept her on her toes, but she always had two days off for her and Rory to spend quality time together.

Still stuck close to the center of town and still concerned about her appearance and hypothermia, Lorelai seriously debated about getting her Luke fix… that is, her coffee fix, vanity be damned!

As if on cue the oldest green Chevrolet truck known to man had just turned down Plum. It slowly pulled up and parked behind her, and Lorelai heard a now familiar voice, "Lorelai?"

Lorelai turned around and only offered a weak smile, _aw crap,_ "Oh hi … Luke? … You're… out of the diner."

"I do surface occasionally," referring to his errands that brought him out and about on his day off, "You okay?"

"Oh you know … it's such a nice street… most of the fruit named ones are … and it was Plum that stole the heart of my jeep" and she patted the hood of the Jeep, "… and here they shall stay together ... till the end of time."

Luke had to smirk at her dramatics as he got out of his truck "What seems to be the problem?" wanting to get to the point already.

"Ummm it just sorta … stopped working?" tucking her hair behind her ears, wishing she could have looked better for him.

"Okay, any other symptoms?" Luke was trying to keep his mind on the car, not her long legs and short shorts in the middle of the mild winter. _Doesn't she know to dress weather appropriate?_

"Well, I picked up some stuff from the beauty supply store," '_cause today, boy do I need it. And he doesn't really need to know that_. "Anyway, I tried to start it up again… and it was uncooperative, but then the tire … well … it seems to have gone flat…" _Though how the two are connected… I don't know…_

"Mind if I take a look …" and Luke reached inside the jeep to pop the hood open, just wanting to be sure her car wouldn't explode with her in it.

"I told you it's the tire."

"If the engine won't start it's more than the tire." He got the impression that Lorelai wasn't entirely car savvy, "Just in case" he assured. Now that Lorelai was becoming a regular, he wanted to make sure she was safe out on the road. _Yeah Danes, that's the only reason … _Luke lifted up the hood, and poked around in the car, "Well it looks like you may need a jump."

_No kidding and … Dirty!_ "I assume this is where jumper cables would come in handy", knowing she didn't have any.

"It's alright, I've got some in my truck," he smiled that he could help her, _maybe this time get more than her name or what was on TV last night_, "but you may want to get a new battery, it's really … not safe to drive like that. It could happen again and I may not be there … to bail you out," He teased, "But … if you want … I could install it for you …top off your fluids … save you a couple of bucks," he shrugged.

"That'd be great … thanks."

"I don't suppose you have a spare tire either."

"Uhhh, good guess," she smiled, rubbing her arms, wondering why she had goose bumps when it felt like 80 degrees out in February.

"You can have mine, it's just a spare, so you may want to … you know get a whole new set. I guess you don't know how old these are, do you?"

"Again … nope…" Lorelai was wishing she didn't feel so stupid around him, but being a car owner was still new to her. Maybe her "friend" Luke could teach her a thing or two. Lorelai was pleased that Luke was a true gentleman, offering all he had to be of some assistance, wanting to genuinely help her out. _Why doesn't he just ask me out?_

"We'll get to that…" he assured.

Lorelai watched as Luke pulled out all the necessary tools. Who knew that this green monster was the Mary Poppin's carpetbag of trucks?_ Hmmm, Green … The Hulk, maybe? Yeah that's a great name for his truck more manly. Wait, I'm naming his truck? What is wrong with me?_

Luke removed his trademark flannel to work with the tire easier, but also to be a gentleman and cover Lorelai's legs since she insisted on keeping the Jeep door open and watching him. Lorelai had his flannel over her legs, and tried to resist rubbing the soft fabric to keep warm. she started thinking of her hot shower waiting for her at home, but seeing Luke's muscles work the tire jack and tools, had him with her in the shower in her imagination. She held his flannel like a cheerleader would hold her boyfriend's letterman jacket and Lorelai had to smile at the fact that Luke had a tattoo on his arm as he worked. She really did try to not enjoy watching him work, but it was better than Gypsy tinkering away and mouthing off at the many ways Lorelai abused her Jeep. Lorelai usually went to Gypsy, figuring a woman would be nicer about it, but this type of auto maintenance was so much better. If Luke did help her out, learn about her car and the tires and things, it would be a guarantee of seeing him again, granted walking in the diner was pretty much a guarantee of seeing him, but this would be seeing him again outside of the diner. Lorelai just liked the idea of seeing him more.

When done with the tire, Luke pulled up beside her Jeep and found the jumper cables in his truck. It was very cliché, being rescued by a knight in… flannel. "So is this a regular practice? Saving damsels in distress, along with brewing the best coffee?"

"I know my way around an engine. I've been doing this since I was 14."

"Wow… early start." Still kinda self-conscious with her choice of clothes, and the fact that she was still nervous about dating, _we are not dating; he's just fixing my car! We are just… friendly._ "I didn't even have my driver's license at 16."_ But then again … I was pregnant._

"Well, most of it I learned from my dad, so…" Luke didn't even notice the cool air while Luke connected the jumper cables, Lorelai's smile was enough to keep him warm and focused on helping her.

Lorelai smiled at the fact of how it was Mia, and not Emily or Richard, who finally taught her how to drive. Luke brought her back to their situation when he called around the hood, "Okay, try it now."

Lorelai turned the key and the Jeep hummed to life.

Luke came up to her open door; "Well, it should be good enough to get you home." _Wherever that is,_ and he almost considered following her.

"Thanks again, you're … my hero."

"Anytime," and Luke suddenly felt shy again, and shuffled his feet a bit, like he did when Lorelai had pointed out his obvious flirting during their second meeting, "ummm hey … I was wondering if…"

"Luke," just then Taylor came bustling over, all too eager to stick his large nose where it didn't belong. "Luke … Luke I'm not sure if you realize this but you are double parked."

"I know Taylor!" He barked over his shoulder, pissed that Taylor still hadn't packed up and moved to Woodbury, but more so that he ruined the nice moment Luke was having with Lorelai, A moment where Luke could have asked her out before she disappeared again. "I'm just giving the lady a jump."

Lorelai bit her lip and smiled to herself over the obvious "Dirty".

"Looks more like you are loitering to me," Taylor crossed his arms haughtily, "Not to mention blocking traffic."

"Taylor, we will move in a minute," Luke growled.

"Alright, but I'm timing you. Oh … hello Lorelai," Taylor recognized the brunette.

_AW CRAP_, "Hey Taylor," Lorelai suddenly became nervous. _Please don't mention Rory, Please don't mention Rory, Please don't mention Rory._

"Everything alright?" Taylor asked giving Luke the evil eye.

"Just fine, Taylor, he was giving my jeep a jump," _less dirty,_ "Like he said."

"Alright then, I'll be back though and if you two are still here…"

"We get it Taylor." Luke rolled his eyes.

"Don't mind him," Lorelai smiled at Luke, _thank you, Taylor, for not mentioning Rory._

"You seem to know him pretty well," Luke asked.

"Oh, he is … infamous."

Then Taylor turned back toward them "Oh Lorelai, I do hope you girls will sign up for the next pageant, we may require your sewing skills."

"Sure thing, Taylor," wincing and agreeing to get him off her case, hoping Luke wouldn't ask too many questions.

"More details at the next town meeting," Taylor cheerfully called.

"Thanks Taylor" … _thanks a lot! At least he said you girls and didn't mention Rory by name._

Luke looked back and forth between Taylor and Lorelai, seeming to realize she was a local. "You live here?"

"Umm we...yeah, thanks again Luke", Lorelai said quickly, "I'll see you later." and she drove home, with his shirt still in her lap.

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A few days later…

"Are you sure you won't go?" Sookie asked.

"I can't" Lorelai whispered, lying in her bed, "he knows I live here now, he knows I go to town meetings and he'll see me with…." trying to find a delicate way to put it.

"…Rory?" Sookie finished.

"Yeah, I just… I don't know … I don't want him to know yet."

"He doesn't even like to go to town meetings. How do you know he'll be there…?"

"Hello he'll be looking for me…" _and I don't know how he feels about kids yet…_

"Well we think highly of ourselves don't we," Sookie commented dryly.

"Well Duh!"

"So you're gonna avoid town meetings forever?"

"Maybe."

"Are you gonna avoid him forever?"

"Well," _…that kinda defeats the point … but,_ "Maybe."

Sookie was exasperated with her friend's logic, "It's a small town … he'll find out eventually…"

"Mom?" and Rory came in the bedroom.

Lorelai went limp in her bed to complete the act. "Hey angel?"

"Feeling better?" Rory asked out of genuine concern, _mom is never sick._

_Usually it's the kid who is faking sick to the parent._ "Awww yeah, a little bit; must be seeing your shining face."

"Are you sure you can't come?"

"I'm sorry, Hon, but I just don't feel up to it."

"But…we always go together… as long as I can remember we've never missed a town meeting."

"Well, that is why you have to go with Aunt Sookie… and give me all the details so I don't miss anything. Consider it … practice for when you are a foreign correspondent."

Loving that idea, Rory exclaimed, "Cool! Can I take notes?"

"Of course … bring your special pens, break 'em in?"

"Can I ask Taylor a bunch of tough questions?"

"Only if you fluster him and make him loose his train of thought."

"Deal!" and Rory ran down stairs to get her book bag and find her favorite pen.

"You are tricky," Sookie shook her head almost in awe of her friend.

"Just get all the details of this pageant for me please…"

When Rory and Sookie left, Lorelai pulled Luke's flannel shirt from her closet; she smiled at it wondering if she should keep it or if she should be a good girl and return it to Luke. _Would he really miss it? He seems to have an endless supply…_

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Luke was one of the first to arrive at the town meeting, but patiently waited outside Miss Patty's.

As Sookie and Rory approached the dance hall, Rory asked "Sookie can I say hi to Lane."

"Of course Kitten, but just for a minute you know how Taylor gets if we're late." Then Sookie noticed Luke looking in every direction, and she took a guess at who he was looking for, "Hey Luke."

Startled he focused on the redhead approaching him, "Oh, Hey Sookie," And he kept looking past her, left and right.

_I won't take offense to that,_ "Looking for someone," she teased.

"What?" _okay, lets not be too obvious, _"no, no, why would I be looking for anyone?"

"I don't know…. Thought maybe that girlfriend of yours, what's her name, came back to town?"

Her tone told Luke she was fishing for information, no doubt for Patty and Babette, the biggest gossips in town, "her name was Rachel, and I'm not looking for anyone."

"Really? You just like a nice stretch before town meetings? Setting a goal on your target heart rate? These meetings can get a little racy."

"Enjoy the meeting Sookie."

"Alright, well I'll see you later, don't pull any muscles or you won't be able to flip and fry at that diner of yours."

Luke kicked himself for not being more discreet. If Sookie noticed his weird behavior, then Babette and Patty were bound to have noticed too.

It was then he saw a young girl run up to Sookie and join her in line to file inside Miss Patty's. Luke did a double take. _That dark hair? Those big blue eyes? She looks like a mini … Nah!_

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"Mom! We're home!"

"Hey sweets," Lorelai greeted the pair home, from under a blanket on the couch.

"How are you feeling?"

"Much better… must be, you know… that time of the month"

"Mom, Gross!" _remind me never to get my period._

"Hey you're not far from becoming a woman, young lady."

"Sooooo not looking forward to that!"

"How was the meeting?"

"Pretty boring, Harry the twinkle light man got in a dispute with the shoe maker."

"And the next bit of town pageantry?"

"Taylor pushed back till next week, he seemed to get inspired during the middle of the meeting … and wanted to draw up some more detailed plans… you know how he loves his visual aid. I'm gonna rewrite my notes." Rory went into her room to draft a good copy of the meeting's notes.

Once Rory was out of ear shot, "He was looking for you," Sookie said flatly.

"He what?" Lorelai looked up from the couch, putting down her magazine.

Sookie sat on the couch at Lorelai's feet, making sure Rory was in her room. "You were right, I saw him practically pull a muscle looking in every direction … for you."

"He was not."

"Was too? And when I asked him…"

"You talked to him?"

"Yeah I'm aloud to talk to him."

"You said you knew him you didn't say anything about being friends…"

"Well we're more… food prep acquaintances."

"How acquaintancey?"

"Is that even a word?"

"Sookie!"

"Okay, okay, I just know him a little bit. Don't worry I'm not going after your man."

"He's not my man," Lorelai dismissed; satisfied that he was looking for her.

"After the contortions he was attempting? I think he is. You have him wrapped around your little finger. Well, I have the breakfast shift in the morning, see you later."

"Night Sook, thanks," and Lorelai thought about Luke as she played with the fabric of his flannel shirt under her blanket.

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When Lorelai reappeared at the diner, Luke never mentioned trying to find her at the town meeting, and she never said why she hadn't been in the diner for a week.

"You're back? Find better coffee some where else?"

"Never!" she scoffed, "Though I have searched high and low, and I'm happy to report, my good sir, your diner is where I shall hang my mug."

"That doesn't even make sense."

"Hello I can't hang my hat, no hat I own goes with this outfit, and it would mess up my hair! And I was paraphrasing…. Seriously how do you drink coffee out of a hat?"

Luke got her a mug to shut her up, muttering something to the extent of "crazy lady" under his breath, possibly inwardly admonishing his own crazy crush on said crazy lady. After a few sips and a few other customers settled, he found the courage to ask, "Soooo where …were you?"

"Well I was… a little under the weather," she hoped he wouldn't catch her in that blatant lie since she had past by the diner every day on her way to work though she purposefully avoided going in.

"… I was … just …wondering." Luke wished he had known. He would have made her soup or something. Not that she would have eaten it given her junk food palate … or that he would have known where to take it.

There was another pause in their conversation, some one's burger was under cooked, and Luke took care of it himself. When he returned to check on Lorelai she posed "Ummm I was hoping we could have that lesson."

"Lesson?"

"You know, the car lesson, topping off fluids … and my new battery…I bought one …at least I think it's the right one… I hope it's the right one…"

"Ummm Sure… just give me a minute," and Luke told Ben he'd be outside.

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Lorelai parked her jeep off to the side of Luke's diner, away from the Town Square and prying eyes. Granted Miss Patty's dance school was still in sight, but fortunately she had just started a class inside.

"Now here's your radiator … you only put water in there. And this tank holds the anti freeze…"

Lorelai decided then and there… she could listen to Luke's voice all day; _just read me the phone book baby._ In previous rants and conversations, and even now explaining the ins and outs of her engine, she loved its tone, his inflection, even his dry humor.

"Lorelai?"

"I'm sorry what?"

"Did you hear anything I said?"

"Yes," she defiantly scoffed.

"Okay, then show me how you check the oil."

Lorelai knew from countless movies and TV shows that you needed to pull out some sort of stick … thingy and wipe it off, and then put it back. Then she remembered where Luke had pointed to minutes before, and she pulled the proper stick out, and showed him.

"As I suspected, we need to top it off," and he prepared the new bottle of motor oil and a funnel. Luke liked spending time with her, despite her incessant questioning about the difference between motor oil and cooking oil and if he had ever confused the two since he dappled in both fields. Luke liked working on cars, and he liked talking with Lorelai, here was an opportunity to do both. He had to laugh at her story of going to the store to buy her new supplies and new battery. How Lorelai knew she was gonna be conned when the sales man's eyes lit up at seeing her enter the store alone. Luke now wished he had gone with her, been more of an intimidation factor so the sales clerk wouldn't look at Lorelai as a cash cow… or as anything else for that matter. Luke made sure she had the receipt so she could take back what she didn't really need.

Lorelai tried to put the oil stick back in place, "I can't find it…"

"Here let me," Luke took her hand and guided it.

Lorelai felt like a stupid schoolgirl, getting goose bumps from him simply taking her hand. She tried to remember if Luke had ever touched her before? Maybe accidentally, while cleaning the counter or refilling her mug. But now, alone, away from the crowd of the diner, it was almost like a date… if not for the grease and grime.

"There we go." He smiled at her, and she smiled back and he was still holding her hand, their eyes locked for a moment, only a moment but it seemed to speak volumes. Luke pulled his hand away not wanting to over step his bounds too soon. He closed the hood, and Lorelai thanked him again.

"I really do appreciate it…"

"Sure it's… what … friends are for."

Lorelai could have stared at his eyes all day too, but then remembered "Oh, I have something for you." And Lorelai went in to her jeep and pulled out his flannel shirt. "Here you go, I … accidentally," _emphasis on that word,_ "took it home with me when … you helped with the flat…. I washed if for you…" suddenly wishing that last phrase never left her mouth.

"Thanks," Smiling at her thoughtfulness. "Well, I'll see ya?"

"Yes, you will."

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**A/N: Again with the Jem songs!**

**A/N: Luke Jumped Lorelai, I know what you all are thinking-Dirty! (Don't we all … just need a jump…? I mean really)**

**A/N: he helps jump her car, when she's stranded on the side of the road as one of those friendly dependable acts of kindness that is Luke. The gentleman the night in shining armor… SNIFF, SNIFF**

**A/N: Debbie's season six wish list**

**-LL married**

**-willy wonka jokes on how Gene wilder is so much better, a Lorelai rant on how creepy Micheal Jackson like Depp was.**

**-Rory falls of planet rename show Gilmore girl and guy… or she's having my baby… LOL**

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**77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
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**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund …**


	4. Do You Wanna …?

**A/N: Insert Strong Bad voice:  
Like a Phoenix, from the ashes**

**...she rises again!**

**Written in the Stars (if you have a better play on title let me know...)  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer:**** Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. WE just use the Gilmore Girls dolls during our slumber parties…. It's fun (shirtless Luke: with coffee pouring action, and the "Fry it and Buy it" Luke's Diner Play Set sold separately!) **

**R/R****: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q:**** What if LL hooked up when they first met? A bonafied woulda What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**Luvz:**** Hey BABY, I am so stupid to start this, ... why do I put myself through this... oh right for THE PEOPLE! I forgot! **

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**Chapter 4 **

**Do You Wanna …? **

After the car lesson, Lorelai started to come to the diner most every day, _Sorry Fran._ And so it was, after dropping Rory off at school, Lorelai would usually start her day with a take out cup from Luke's. If she had time, she'd have a longer visit in the afternoon after her shift at the Inn, and since Rory was still in school, Lorelai could drop by the diner, get another Coffee fix and a Luke fix, before picking Rory up. Sometimes Lorelai would just sit at the counter for about a half an hour, watch Luke as he worked, and casually chat and argue with him when he had a free minute. All too happy to confuse him with her knowledge of movies and books he had neither seen nor read, ever so careful not to once mention Rory as her source for most of that information.

Lorelai would try to get him interested in what she had seen on TV the night before, or about classic movies he'd never heard of. In a way she saw Luke as a challenge, a puzzle to figure out, to be molded like silly putty… without the silly, and he was handsome, in that rugged T-shirt and Jeans, "I'm too cool to shave" kind of way.

They had been friendly, but the fun was in the arguing just the same, it became their thing. She would still insist on being served immediately because somewhere she had been adopted as a Queen. He would inform her that chili cheese fries were not only bad for her health, but they weren't on his menu. However, with a flip of her hair and a flash of that smile, he'd cave and make 'em for her anyway.

Lorelai didn't know if she should tell Luke she had kid, small talk only went so far. Besides, this was only an eye candy crush, nothing serious. However, on this particular afternoon, Lorelai was having such fun teasing Luke, she almost didn't notice the time on the wall, _Rory!_ "Oh, I have to go," she put some money on the counter for him, but Luke stopped her.

"Hey ummm, Lorelai, wait a sec."

"Yeah?" she sat back down because suddenly he looked very serious … and very nervous.

Luke had noticed that she sometimes came in twice a day now, apparently content to sip her coffee and watch him work. He had hoped that she kept coming to the diner for more than the coffee and pie, Luke was about to find out. Suddenly, Luke felt like he was in high school again, he couldn't remember the last time he actually asked someone out. With Rachel in and out of the picture all the time he never really needed to; but their last parting seemed … more final, So, _OH Hell_, "Would you …umm, like to have dinner… some time … with me?" and Luke held his breath and waited for the answer.

Lorelai couldn't hold in the smile, "Like a date?"

"Well, umm yeah, sure like a date…" her smile was encouraging, but he still shuffled his feet, only then realizing he was asking her out in the middle of the diner for anyone to over hear, but he didn't want her to disappear again.

Apparently, the crush wasn't just on her end. Lorelai was technically a regular now, and Luke and her had pleasant conversations and banter, he had helped her out with her car, and she was definitely attracted to him, maybe … something was there… "Okay, great," she nodded.

"Great," almost laughing to himself that she said yes, then trying not to sound too eager, Luke asked, "ummm when?"

"Oh umm, well," _Rory, crap …and dating time is in the evening…. _"Is Thursday okay?"_ Gilmore what are you doing? You're gonna need a baby sitter, and an outfit … and your head examined._

"Sure, Thursday it is," he then realized for all they had talked he didn't know where she lived, or worked or what she did. _Not that she's crack dealer in Stars Hollow. Do crack dealers have nights off? _"Ummmm where … should I pick you up?"

"Actually ummm I could just come by here, if that's okay?" _nice neutral territory._

"Sure, sure, that's fine." He still couldn't believe she had said yes.

"I'll see you then."

"Yeah, great," at that moment, Luke felt like giving everyone in the diner free Coffee.

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"I said yes!"

After Lorelai said "yes", she picked up Rory from school; they swung by the Inn to get Sookie for some emergency adult best friend time. Rory was too focused on her assignments, and didn't notice the hidden panic in her mother's face when she hopped in the Jeep. Rory did find it funny that when they stopped at the Inn, Sookie practically flew down the stairs to get into the jeep. It was a wonder Sookie didn't break something; as she had a reputation for being accident prone, especially when she was excited.

When the trio arrived home, Rory started her homework down stairs, and Lorelai had to discreetly drag Sookie upstairs. Sookie was trying best to comfort her friend not quite sure what the problem was yet. _She said something happened with Luke? OH maybe they kissed!_

"How could I say yes?" Lorelai repeated.

Sookie was a little disappointed that he only asked her out, _damn, but she finally has a date? That's a good thing. _Sookie was trying to be supportive, "…because Luke is a really great guy, you've had fun talking with him, and he's handsome…. And you've been friendly for a few weeks now …"

"But I said yes?"

"To a date which you haven't had for a really long time. Let's get a few things in perspective okay?"

Lorelai sat on her bed "okay?" wondering where Sookie would be going with this.

"You guys are friendly right?"

"Well yes."

"…And you like him right?"

"Well …Yeah," Lorelai shyly admitted.

"…And he's pretty decent to look at, right?"

"Yeah, more than decent," Lorelai agreed.

"…And he asked you out? "

"YES," _make a point!_

And Sookie soothed, "So what's the problem? You go out, have a good time, and see if there is anything there worth building on. That is what dating is…"

"But … I have Rory"

"I'll baby-sit if you like."

"But what am I gonna tell her?"

"Well, you've always been a fan of telling her the truth," Sookie shrugged.

Lorelai shook her head not seeing that as a viable option, "But this is different. This is a boy, not a boy, a man … a man friend for me to play with. Oh My God Dirty." Lorelai flopped back on the bed again, still mortified that she didn't think about all the consequences before she said yes to a date when she basically swore off men to focus on rearing Rory.

"Honey, you need to do this, okay. As long as I've known you haven't really given any guy a chance, Chris was your last real relationship. "

"Last and only… look how that turned out."

"You deserve to be happy …"

Lorelai rolled over and sighed, "Luke does seem like a great guy."

"We all could use one of those … so find out how great, go out with him. You've already said yes, so he's expecting you to be there on Thursday."

Lorelai furrowed her brow, "You sound like my mother… 'You made a promise, so you have to follow through, what would people say if you backed out on your word.'"

Sookie laughed at the mock Emily voice, never having heard the original, "Well, don't you think Luke is worth following through with?"

"What about Rory?"

"You can't hide behind her forever."

"I'm not hiding…"

"Yes you are. You are scared of getting hurt again."

Lorelai kept quiet_…of both of us getting hurt again. _

"I promise you Luke is different, and Rory is a big girl I think she can handle it. If she can handle Tolstoy she can handle her mother dating."

"Well … not yet …let's see how it goes first… no sense in upsetting her… if it doesn't work out. Right?"

"Okay. Totally your call" Sookie was just happy that Lorelai was going to give Luke an honest chance. "What about telling Luke…?"

"Again, no sense in rocking the boat if … it doesn't work out," and Lorelai hated to hear the words, for some reason, she kept hoping for the best with Luke.

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**OT A/N: I bought a shirt today that says, "Let's get Dirty!" I sooooooooooo love this shirt! **

**A/N: Short Rory Rant: -Rory is so stupid… Rory is just gonna give up when a man says no? Thank God she wasn't around when women were fighting for the right to vote... Maureen O'Hara would SOOOOOO kick Rory's ass and she's like 80 now! **

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**77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 **

**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund …**


	5. A Cup’O’Luke

**Insert Strong Bad voice:  
Like a Phoenix, from the ashes **

**...she rises again!**

**Written in the Stars (if you have a better play on title let me know...)  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. WE just use the Gilmore Girls dolls during our slumber parties…. It's fun (shirtless Luke: with coffee pouring action, and the "Fry it and Buy it" Luke's Diner Play Set sold separately!)**

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: What if LL hooked up when they first met? A bona fide woulda What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…?**

**Luvz: in the words of hello Dolly I am so glad to be back…**

**77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777**

**Chapter 5:  
A Cup'O'Luke**

As Thursdays do, the date night had finally arrived. After much anticipation, Lorelai was mixed with looking forward to her night with Luke, but dreading coming home and having to answer to Rory.

"You've been watching that clock awfully intently?" Mia came up beside the junior assistant manager who was biting her nails and staring at the clock down as if sheer will would make it go faster.

"Was I? I'm sorry Mia," Lorelai pulled her hand away from her mouth to keep from chipping her freshly painted nails.

"Some where better to be?" Lorelai's boss kindly prodded.

"Oh well, umm … no?"

Knowing better, Mia didn't believe her. "Lorelai how long have we known each other?"

"10 years."

"That's a decade. I've seen you grow up, I've watched Rory grow up… and I know when you are lying," the seasoned woman smiled. "Now you have been staring at that clock since Lunch, and don't think I haven't seen those cootie catchers you are hiding under the reservation book. … Now tell me more about this date."

Lorelai looked surprised, and then sighed when she figured, "Sookie told you."

"She caved like a flan in a cupboard, now who is he?" Mia looked at Lorelai as another one of her children, the daughter she never had, and she was protective and certain that no man was good enough for this vivacious soul.

Lorelai swallowed, "Luke… from the diner in town."

"Really?" Mia was now very intrigued; "so he asked you out?" _he's finally over Rachel…_

"Yes."

Keeping her tone objective, Mia asked, "And you said yes…"

"Yes" Lorelai prepared for a scolding from the woman whose opinion mattered most. Mia was more nurturing and understanding than Emily had ever been, after 10 years it would be a shame to ruin that beautiful relationship over a guy.

"Does he know? About our … little angel?" figuring Luke wasn't really in the main stream being the town hermit since his father died.

"No," Lorelai said meekly, "I only met him a few weeks ago, and then all of a sudden he asked me out…" Lorelai began to feel more and more like canceling.

Mia cutting off Lorelai's defense with a low, "Does Rory know ... about him?"

"No… I didn't want to upset her … if things didn't work out," Lorelai got out quickly; this conversation was not helping her nerves.

"So… she thinks…"

"… That I'm just working late," Lorelai finished.

Mia nodded, "You have a babysitter?"

"Sookie."

"Ahhh," Mia considered for a moment. _That was why she was so eager to get home_, recalling how Sookie crashed into her a few minutes ago, and how she offered all the information she had on Lorelai's date under Mia's gentle questions.

Lorelai almost flinched; _here it comes._

"Well I think it's wonderful."

Lorelai's head snapped toward Mia, "You do?"

"Yes, you've been hibernating for far too long, a beautiful thing like yourself tucked away? Now I know you've had your reasons…but… "

Lorelai sighed, "but I'm lying to him I should give him the whole picture."

"That isn't what I was going to say. I was going to say … I think it's about time … and there will be a time and place for all that … disclosure. I know Luke a little bit, and I think he'll surprise you, but for now I want you to have fun tonight. You hear me?"

"Okay?" happy to have a warm wish from a parent, Emily wanted Lorelai to focus more on the connection of the beau's family rather than actually having a good time or enjoying his company.

"Seems like the only thing left for you to do … is get ready. Why don't you go change?" Mia pulled out a bag Lorelai had stashed beneath the desk.

Lorelai stared at the bag she thought she had hidden so cleverly, and then looked at Mia, _How did she know,_ "Now?"

Mia smiled and gently confirmed "Now," _Lorelai maybe just what Luke needs._

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Lorelai changed as instructed at the Inn. She had told Rory she would be working late, because of her new training to take over for Carly… _yeah, that's the ticket,_ so that would explain why she had to stay out late, and Sookie would be there to watch her.

When Lorelai parked in front of the diner she had to remind herself to breath. It had been 10 years since her last date, a date with Christopher; it was a date whose sole purpose was to tell Chris that she was pregnant with Rory.

Lorelai almost wanted to go home, but then she saw Luke come out of the back room. Luke was dressed up nice with a button up shirt and slacks, and would you believe, without a baseball cap. His cook seemed to be giving him a hard time about having a date. Luke gave a few last orders, when he looked out the window, saw her, and smiled.

_Too late now,_ Lorelai smiled at him, at how well he cleaned up, at how she had been looking forward to this company all day long.

Lorelai got out of her jeep, and headed in the diner. She heard Luke bark at his cook, "not a word."

"Am I interrupting?" Lorelai smiled.

"Nah," he seemed a little nervous too, "umm would you mind if we took my truck?"

"No, not at all," and Lorelai noted the cook snickering behind the counter.

"Okay," then under his breath, Luke had the last word with his cook, "At least I have a date."

"I'm married," the cook defended with a shrug.

Luke had opened the truck door for Lorelai, and when Luke settled in on his side, Lorelai had to know, "what was that all about?"

"Awww just… nothing…" and Luke put his keys in the ignition.

"What? Tell me."

"Ben was… just ragging on me, that's all."

"Okay, About what?" Lorelai tried to connect the dots, "… about our date?"

"He just… thought it was ... Funny."

"What? You dating?"

Luke sighed, "That you … picked me up… instead of the other way around…"

"Ohhhh," seeing she may have bruised his ego, not letting him come to her front door and all that traditional stuff.

"He called it … modern," Luke rolled his eyes.

Not sure what to say to that but thinking it funny all the same, Lorelai kept her mouth shut.

"I've never… met anyone like you…" Luke finally added, "And that's a good thing."

"It's nice to be unique;" Lorelai beamed, "Is … that why you asked me out?"

"Yeah … I haven't really… dated much … so in advance, I hope you have a good time."

"Like wise on both counts."

And the first date was on its way.

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While waiting for the movie and all through dinner, Lorelai had strategically avoided the subject of family on purpose, so she wouldn't accidentally slip about Rory. _And really do you want to be talking about your mother or his mother on the first date?_

Like most first dates, it was full of those awkward pauses, and accidental touches that were scary but thrilling at the same time. Lorelai had debated about playing full on footsy with him under the table, but decided she would just tell him more about movies he had to see, or TV shows he needed to watch.

"So you work at the Independence Inn?"

"Yeah"

"So… what do you do?"

"Well ummm, I'm currently a renaissance woman of hospitality… most of the time…I'm a junior assistant manager… you know…" a little embarrassed by her low position, especially talking to someone who owned his own business, "I'm still in training to be part of the management staff, but from time to time I help run weddings and events at the Inn, and very rarely I do the time warp and dawn my old maid outfit… "

"Oh you were a maid?" Luke was just nervous, he never been good at small talk, feeling everything he said sounded stupid.

"Ummm yeah, that's how I started," _I needed a job to support my daughter_, guilt set in again, "but I've worked my way up…oh I help my friend Sookie as a hostess for the dining room."

"Oh, I know Sookie…"

"Yeah, she's …great… sooo thanks to Mia… I do a bit of everything."

Since Luke now knew she was a local, Lorelai shared some stories about different guests she had met at the Inn or town fanfare he may have missed and he in turn told stories about people who had passed through his diner, asking for directions, _buy a map you cheapskates._

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When they returned to Stars Hollow, Luke shook his head as they walked from his truck toward the diner, "I still can't believe we went ten years without meeting each other, living in the same small town."

"Maybe it's not as small as you think … or maybe we just moved in different circles," _like PTA._

Luke began to consider what would have happened if they had met while he was still with Rachel. He may not have noticed Lorelai at all, or he would have had guilty feelings thinking of another woman. Or maybe he would have simply pined for Lorelai in silence. _NAH!_

"Must be fate", Lorelai deduced, taking in the empty streets of Stars Hollow_, people don't usually stay up late in this burg._

"There is no fate?"_ here we go again, a soon to be classic Luke and Lorelai argument. …. Luke and Lorelai…. I do like the sound of that._

"Oh no," and she took his hand, "Then what made my car stall out? Or my tire flat?"

"Neglect?" he smirked.

She ignored him, "Of all the people in town, what made you be the one to come to my Rescue?""

"What made you come in my diner for the first time?" he joined in the rhetorical speculation.

"Exactly!" she smiled.

"It wasn't fate" He rolled his eyes, which had become a habit whenever she was talking crazy, but he liked how her hand fit so well into his.

"Yes it was," and Lorelai explained, "I usually go into Weston's, but on that day of days, Fran had to go out of town for a family funeral. I was having one of the worst days ever and naturally needed a coffee fix. With Weston's closed, where would I go? What would I do? Who would be my savior? Then, I saw your happy yellow sign… "

"It's not a happy yellow," Luke scoffed.

"…In the shape of a coffee mug and a few weeks later … here we are, and it is a happy yellow."

Luke considered her argument for a moment, "…whatever it was…" _It's been two long years gotta get back in the saddle again,_ and Luke stopped to look her in the eye, "… I'm glad our paths crossed now."

Lorelai hoped he didn't see the added color in her cheeks. They walked up the sidewalk, and a choice needed to be made, into her Jeep or into his diner. She knew she had to get home, that was the responsible motherly thing to do, but she didn't want their night to end just yet.

"So how about a cup'o'Luke?" and she nodded toward he diner.

"A what?"

"Well you're name is not Joe," she reasoned, " and your coffee is by far the best I've ever had, and now I feel weird calling it anything else, particularly since … we are on a date. You're not supposed to talk about other men on the first date."

"Okay?" hoping her logic would make sense eventually, "… but you really shouldn't be drinking Coffee this late at night. You'll have trouble sleeping."

_I'd have that anyway … thinking about you ... Stop it!_ "Well, I guess you'll have to stay up with me and keep me company." Lorelai said over her shoulder as Luke opened the diner door for her. Then one of those awkward "first date silences" fell on the pair again as she took a seat at the counter and watched him make a fresh pot just for her.

"So why did you open a diner?" playing with a napkin from the dispenser.

"Well I knew how to cook," Luke shrugged, "people always gotta eat."

"That's logical," She nodded, "Do you… ever change your menu?"

"I am not putting chili cheese fries on the menu," As he placed a hot mug in front of her, hoping to silence the request for the last time.

"But I can guarantee they will be a big hit." _Rory and I will eat tons … that is, if I ever bring Rory in here…. Oh boy._ She came back to the present when Luke sat next to her on one of the other stools. She shyly moved her mug around on the counter. "I had a really good time tonight."

"Me too."

Luke was maybe 2 feet away from her, sitting on his stool. Lorelai looked him up and down to try to read his mind, but when he leaned in to kiss her, she knew he was thinking the exact same thing she was. She had been wondering what it would be like to kiss him since his David Bowie comment, and Lorelai couldn't help herself; she had kiss him back, she had to be close to him. Here was a gorgeous man and he was interested in her, so she stood up to lean against him wrapping her arms around his neck, completely neglecting her coffee on the counter. Maybe if she could keep busy kissing him, she would stop feeling guilty for lying to him

_Well not lying, just not… revealing the whole truth_ _yet_. _That would definitely kill the mood, hey Luke by the way I'm a mom._ She wasn't sure how much time had past, standing in the middle of a diner that smelled like onion rings, making out with a wonderful man like she was a teenager again. When Lorelai had a sense of her surroundings again, she realized Luke was standing too, his arms around her to keep her close. Lorelai pulled away to catch her breath and her thoughts.

Luke loved being with her, Lorelai made him feel things he hadn't felt in a long time, not since Rachel left, But when Lorelai pulled away, Luke made sure he got out a quick but sincere "I'm sorry, …"

_Why does he have to be so sweet?_ It only made Lorelai want him more. "Are you kidding? I've been waiting all night for you to do that," and she kissed him again.

Lorelai wanted to focus on Luke and on the moment, but soon Rory's face kept popping in her head as Luke deepened the kiss. "Although," she chimed in…pulling away again, "It does seem very… exhibitionist … doing this here … at the diner," noting the large windows, and open blinds, _Not that anyone else is up this time of night_, and not sure what else he had in mind for the first date, or what she had in mind, for that matter, fighting the urge to pull him into the storage room she heard him speak so much of.

Resting his forehead against hers, Luke sighed, "You're probably right…"

She didn't mean to talk him out of the kissing; _I love the kissing, I want more of the kissing,_ but Luke whispered, "It's late," with his hands rubbing her waist and torso.

"Yeah…" she admitted, seeing the spell was broken. _He's being a gentleman, stopping things … before we get too carried away… and boy could I ever get carried away._

Luke walked her outside to the Jeep, "I'll see you … tomorrow?" he asked hopefully.

"Definitely," Lorelai forced a smile, still not wanting to leave him… "Good night Luke."

"Good night, Lorelai," and he kissed her again, and Lorelai knew it was for the best to remove herself from the situation, when she pulled away the second time, Luke blurted out, "are you free Saturday?"

"Why?"

"I want to see you again, that's why?" thinking asking for Friday night might be too eager.

"You sure you're not sick of me?" she narrowed her eyes playfully.

"Positive."

Without further consideration Lorelai breathed "okay… Saturday."

"Great … are you sure I can't drive you home?"

"Got my Jeep…" she jingled her keys.

"Right, right..." feeling stupid he forgot there was a 3 ton jeep standing next to him, and disappointed he couldn't spend more time with her.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Luke watched as she climbed in her jeep and disappeared… again. He shook his head as he turned off the lights in the diner, and climbed the stairs to his apartment, wondering if he'd sleep a wink after that kiss.

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After hearing the Jeep pull in the driveway, Rory met her mother at the door, "Hey Mom! Wow, you look nice," gazing up in admiration of her mother's advancing career.

"Thanks Hon," Lorelai smiled, hoping Luke didn't leave handprints on her from that last kiss. "What are you still doing up?"

"How was the first night?" Rory ignored her mother's question.

"The first night?" staring at her daughter_, did she figure it out? How did she figure it out?_

"Yeah, at the Inn, Are you doing the night manager stuff now?"

"Oh no, I'm just … still in training… you know … so when Carly has her baby I may take over that position … temporarily."

"Sooo what did you do tonight?" Rory wanted to hear all about it.

Taking off her coat, Lorelai completely fibbed, "Oh Hon, you know… help people find their way around, checked people in … really boring… stuff" trying to keep nonchalant, _made out with a boy…_

Rory's brow furrowed examining her mother, "What's wrong with your lip stick?"

"My lipstick?"

"It's all … smudged?"

"Oh well," Lorelai shot a guilty glance at Sookie, who was suppressing a grin. Lorelai explained to her daughter "…I wasn't really sure if I liked this color when I put it on this morning... And when I just looked at it in the car… I realized… this shade really doesn't transfer well for nightwear sooo… " She felt like Emily had just caught her sneaking out the balcony window.

Rory shook her head at her silly mother, "it's a rear view mirror, not a make up mirror."

"Well from any view mirror it was horrible. So I … tried to get it off as best I could," _By kissing a gorgeous man… oh boy._

Sookie manage to pass off some of her laughter as coughs and excused her self to get a drink of water, to keep from tipping to Rory something was up.

Ignoring her spastic friend, Lorelai focused on the motherly duties of the evening, "Brush your teeth?"

"Yes" Rory smiled brightly.

"Brush your hair?"

"Yes."

"Wash your face?"

"Yes."

"Why do I bother asking anymore?" blessed with the perfect kid, then she thought she'd stump her daughter and asked, "got my million dollars yet?"

"The compound interest still needs to mature; you'll have it in about 25 years."

"Okay good as long as you are on top of that."

"Okay, since you're home safe and sound… I'm going to bed now."

"Oh really…?" Lorelai asked suspicious.

"Yes," Rory answered innocently.

"It's a school night, bed means sleep, not in bed reading the Iliad …"

Rory crossed her arms; "I'm on the Count of Monte Cristo now."

_I can't keep up, _Lorelai smiled at her little egghead, "Finish the chapter you are on and lights out."

Rory saluted, "Right away, Zatara" with a strange accent, and Rory went off to her room.

_Ummm I'll ask later._

The adults were now alone and young ears occupied with tales of hidden identities and lost loves, Sookie pressed, "How was it?"

"It was … great … and one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. "Lorelai started shaking her head, and plopped on the couch, "Oh Sookie what am I doing, I'm a mom I can't date."

"Okay, we've had this conversation before. And I thought you said it was great?"

"No, it was. The best first date… ever … though I don't date much to begin with so … what do I have it to compare it too?"

"2 minutes on your parent's balcony and bamn you got Rory." Sookie offered.

"Exactly… and that was like 10 years ago."

"Well where'd he take you? Luke doesn't seem like… the moon light and roses kinda guy."

Happy to share the details, Lorelai's smile returned, "Actually we went to a second run theater, he picked up early that I like movies so that was nice."

"AHHH, so what was playing?"

"Well, I mentioned Labyrinth to him a while ago, and he found a theater playing it. And he let me talk through the entire movie, mostly to explain things to him. Then, he took me to this place owned by old friends of his, with great food, and then…"

"And then?" Sookie was on the edge of her seat expecting at least a good night kiss.

"He took me back to the diner, for coffee, cause of course I'm me and I needed coffee…."

"And?"

"Well, we were talking and then he got closer, and we started kissing…."

"OOO how was it?"

"Very … nice." She admitted, having missed it for more than 10 years.

Sookie asked the leading question, "Is there more?"

"Well I felt a little slutty, doing … what we were doing…that in the middle of the diner, like we were moving too fast …"

"And?" Sookie felt as though she was about to explode right there on the couch if necessary.

"…And he was a complete gentleman walked me to my car, kissed me goodnight… again… and I left."

"Awwwww," Let down by the anti climax, Sookie slumped on the couch.

"Sookie it was the first date!"

"… But you really like him… and he likes you… and you haven't…" Sookie waved her hand, to fill in the blank.

"I know…." _I was there…_

"…For a long time. … Aren't you like… you know… hungry? You know … for … that?"

Recalling Luke's hands on her, trying not to think about it… "Starving actually, but it was good; we can take it slow… I mean really that was the problem with Chris right… we went too fast, we didn't think… and ….we well, I… got pregnant."

"So you're gonna see Luke again?"

"Saturday," Lorelai admitted.

Sookie Squealed, "OOOO this is so exciting our own small town romance…"

"NO!" Lorelai realized.

"What?"

"You can't tell anyone…"

"Why not?"

"Because … it could get back to Rory."

"Okay? But if things keep going well you will have to tell her eventually."

"I will, I just need … the right moment…" _or motivation, or a backbone…._

"You'll have to tell him eventually too, you know."

"I know…" _Gilmore, what have you gotten yourself into?_

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**A/N: congrats to all who got the Book Right!**

**A/N: Ben and Luke… Like Star Wars LOL**

**A/N: I always thought it was weird that Nicole picked Luke up at the diner… and how the first thing Luke did was introduce his date to Lorelai?… It's not like Nicole asked "hey who the hell that is?" Or "who's your friend…?" or "Are you pining for anyone I should know about?" Lorelai just wanted coffee, she was just sitting there … I think it would have been better if Luke completely ignored her and just left, no explanation… Lorelai didn't introduce Luke to Alex when they went fishing… Lorelai said " …you don't want to hear about my personal life…" how right you are… any dirty scandalous tales of you and other men are SOOOOO not on Luke's favorite things to hear list… so I think the same should be true, Lorelai you don't wanna hear if Luke is getting it on with another woman…**

**I understand the purpose for Nicole, with Luke being taken… Lorelai was free to go out with Jason … and EWWWWW I still can't believe she slept with Jason I mean EEWWW he had man boobs and a gut…. That's Gross Lorelai**

**A/N: two words... smudged Lipstick? LOL**

**A/N: I SWEAR I wrote that modern bit about Lorelai picking up Luke at the diner… before 6.01 even aired.**

**Unfortunately, I have no witness cause of my lack of Internet for the month due to the Move…**

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"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
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**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund …**


	6. Just For Me

**A/N: Insert Strong Bad voice:  
Like a Phoenix, from the ashes**

**...she rises again!**

**Written in the Stars (if you have a better play on title let me know...)  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer:**** Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. WE just use the Gilmore Girls dolls during our slumber parties…. It's fun (shirtless Luke: with coffee pouring action, and the "Fry it and Buy it" Luke's Diner Play Set sold separately!) **

**R/R****: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q:**** What if LL hooked up when they first met? A bonafied woulda What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**Luvz:**** how do I get myself into theses situations? You know constantly needing to up date… oh wait my brain won't shut down and I have too many ideas for stories… I'm creative that way! Hey, S'up LOL**

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Chapter 6  
Just For Me

The first date having gone well, and despite her concerns about telling Luke the whole truth and nothing but the truth, Lorelai couldn't wait to see him again. So she went to the diner between dropping off Rory at School and heading to work.

"Hey," Lorelai beamed, still trying to think of a way to say what she needed to tell Luke the most._ Hey Luke, Funny story… I'm a mom…_

"Hi, let me guess Coffee and a doughnut to go?"

"Wow, you are like Dionne Warwick, but what kind of doughnut? Sprinkles, Powdered, Jelly?"

"Actually, I've got Chocolate now."

"Really?"

"Yeah, someone told me I should give em a try?"

"Really?" she smiled and nodded recalling her suggestion from the week before. "How are they doing?"

"Selling very well, thank you, maybe I'll make a permanent part of my order."

"Awww that's good," pleased with her persuasive power over the diner man.

"And if people want to kill themselves with all the fat and crap that's in 'em … At least they pay me in advance, right?" he shrugged dryly.

_That is exactly why I'm attracted to you my friend…_"Then in that case, I'll have two chocolates, and a coffee to go?" Lorelai sat at the counter, waiting for him to fill her order.

Luke leaned in when handing her the bag, and said, "I had a good time last night."

"Me too," Lorelai was unable to think of anything but the goodnight kisses at that moment.

"Hey I was thinking … if you want I could make us something."

"Like a genie? Cool, make me a ballerina?"

"No like dinner, for when you come over on Saturday."

_I don't think a man has ever cooked for me before … well other than Joe the pizza guy, or Al, okay like date cook for me before, and Sookie did say the way to my heart was through my stomach, "_okay, sounds great."

_Mind if I bring my daughter along… No, that won't work…. _

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Naturally upon her arrival to work, not only did Sookie want Lorelai to her to tell the date story again…. But even Mia pulled Lorelei into her office and was hitting her up for details, both genuinely happy for Lorelai.

"Well, I'm glad you are in a good mood."

"Why?" Lorelai smiled brightly.

"…Because today … I really need a maid."

"What?"

"Judy called in sick again, now before you start on a tangent I already fired her, but until I can find a more permanent replacement … I need you to be understanding…and…"

"Do the housekeeping rounds for the third floor…I'm on it," there was on "I" in team Lorelai knew, but there was one in Inn.

Though reluctant to relive her early years at the Independence Inn, the monotonous duties of housekeeping gave Lorelai amble time to relive her date over and over. She would go room to room on autopilot, thinking of the night before with Luke, and wondered what he would make for her on Saturday. Then she found herself practicing in each guest's mirror a different variation on how to tell Luke about Rory and vice versa. She was having no luck in either case. It was endless pondering over timing, and who to tell first,_ Luke or Rory,_ then of course, what to actually say.

When she stepped out of Room 13, heart heavy with keeping her secret from Luke, Lorelai overheard a guest mention the theater Luke took her to.

"… Well I may never go there again, it was just outrageous." The older women walked slowly and made her way down the hall arm in arm with her granddaughter.

"Grandma, they are second run movies."

"But I've been there before, they play all sorts of classics, and they were supposed to play _Apartment for Peggy_," and the old woman put her hand over her heart, "you know how I love Jean Crain … and it said so in the advertisement _Apartment for Peggy_ -8:30."

That detail caught Lorelai's attention, _that's when Labyrinth started. _

"What did they play?" the biddy's granddaughter asked.

"Oh some God awful movie with puppets and a man running around in these obscene tights, and there was this most horrible selfish teenager trapped in a … maze… or some such nonsense."

"Labyrinth?" Lorelai found herself asking the guest.

"Yes, something like that…" the guest dismissed the maid's input since it was rude for the help to be eavesdropping in the first place.

_Sure, it's thank you, young lady when I'm at the front desk, but in a maid's outfit I'm unfit to talk to._

Lorelai left her cart for a moment to run downstairs to find Sookie. Lorelai poked her head in the kitchen and snuck in since Rafael only liked kitchen staff in his workspace.

"Sookie," Lorelai whispered, and gestured for her friend to meet her in the hall.

"Hey, you're a maid today," Sookie noticed as she came out of the kitchen wiping her hands on dish towel, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing… it just … He arranged to have Labyrinth play."

"What?"

"Luke. They were supposed to play Apartment for Peggy at the theater we went to."

"Awww, I love that movie … I haven't seen it in ages…"

"I know, me too, but he some how he got them to play Labyrinth instead … just for me, for our date."

"Are you sure?"

"Well, I heard a guest complain about it… she wanted to see Jean Crain and got David Bowie."

"So not the same thing," Sookie was grinning at how excited Lorelai was over Luke's gesture, if in fact he had made a gesture since that didn't seem like the Luke Danes she knew. "Wow he must really like you…"

"I know! But how can we be sure…"

"Oooo call the theater…"

"Yeah, okay, I'll call on my Break. I gotta get back to work; I left my cart unattended upstairs no doubt picked clean by now… I'll see you later."

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It was true.

Lorelai called the theater and pretended to be the upset Jean Crain fan, and found out from a hopeless romantic box office attendant that Luke had arranged with the manager to track down and play Labyrinth. _I wonder if he'd take requests… Jeez now I really wanna see Apartment for Peggy though. I wonder if Luke will see it with me._

That evening, Lorelai wore a smile, thinking of Luke, while carrying home pizzas in one hand, holding her daughter's hand in the other. Forming a list of movies she'd want him to see, it was a small break from the worrying about coming clean to Luke and to Rory.

"Mom?"

"Yes progeny?" she smiled down.

"Why do you go to Luke's instead of Weston's now?"

_She's noticed? How could she notice?_ Lorelai attempted to gloss over how Rory caught her off guard, "What are you talking about?"

"Well, you've been bringing home a lot of take out cups from Luke's …"

_I'm the mother of the female Sherlock Holmes, Of course! _Lorelai marveled at her too smart child.

"… Did something happen to Fran?" Rory's blue eyes were suddenly filled with concern, her tone panicked.

"What? Oh no, no honey," She bent down to look her baby girl in the eye, so Rory knew there was no need for alarm, "Fran is fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Lorelai assured firmly, "Fran will be with us a long, long time."

"Then why the change?" Rory cocked her head to one side, as if that would help her see the reason better.

"Well …" searching for an explanation her daughter might accept and understand, "Fran runs a bakery right? She makes mainly desserts and things right?"

"Right?" Rory encouraged her mother's point.

"Well, after a steady diet of desserts, sometimes you want some meat and potatoes. And Luke makes burgers and fries, but still has pie and doughnuts if you need something sweet."

"Cool, can I go with you next time?"

_Aww crap, damn my sales skills, I should run Luke's advertising campaign, _"Well, I'm still checking it out. You know making sure it's not one of those fronts for drugs or something…" _Okay, don't demonize the place either. She may have to like him… eventually._

"In Stars Hollow?" Lorelai had quickly confused Rory.

"I'll take you there soon," Lorelai smiled hoping that ended the conversation for now and they headed for home as the annoying deliberation began again in Lorelai's head.

_Luke then Rory… _

_No, Rory then Luke… wait... _

**7777777777777777777777777 **

**My favorite part of this CH is the talk between Rory and Lorelai… I'm very proud of it. **

**A/N: Apartment for Peggy… GREAT Movie! I'm such a Jean Crain it's not funny.  
**

**77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 **

**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund … **


	7. Lucky Number 7

**A/N: Insert Strong Bad voice:  
Like a Phoenix, from the ashes**

**...she rises again!**

**Written in the Stars (can't change the title now… everyone knows it as this soooo AW well)  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer:**** Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. WE just use the Gilmore Girls dolls during our slumber parties…. It's fun (shirtless Luke: with coffee pouring action, and the "Fry it and Buy it" Luke's Diner Play Set sold separately!) **

**R/R****: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q:**** What if LL hooked up when they first met? A bona fied woulda What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**Luvz:**** hey, S'up LOL ****HEY baby I've got three words for you…. TWO MONTHS LATE! And for all you outsiders no I'm not craving apples… she knows what it means…**

**OY, WITH THE INCESSENT A/Ns ALREADY:**

**A/N:I can't wait! I tell ya I can't WAIT till Rich and Em see Logan sneaking out of the pool house one night… or just walk in on a Rory Logan breakfast MUUUHAHAHAHA… LOL**

**I am wringing my hands together with glee…. I've predicted it before… Luvz is my witness I may just have to write fic on the subject… that is how happy I am to think of it… and I hate writing Rory fics…. As my record proves… **

**A/N: hey, why did no one get the Fran will be with us a long, long time joke? Huh? I feel like ASP when they edit out jokes when they translate them for over seas…. I worked long and hard on that joke and it goes unnoticed…. Well fine then… (Wink) **

**A/N: my favorite part is the Rory's noticed part too! **

**A/N: I know the last one was kind of short but (A) you got it within a few days… and (B) it was a more appropriate break in the story…. Because…. **

**A/N****: hey it's lucky number seven, one guess what's in this chapter…. Only loyal crack whore will guess…. hehehehehe **

**77777777777777777777777  
Chapter 7  
Lucky Number 7**

Saturday evening came and Lorelai had lied to her daughter again,_ all for a night with a boy, I think only Courtney Love has me beat in the worst mother department._ Again, Lorelai considered canceling, but with Sookie's nagging, and Mia's encouragement, Lorelai went to the diner again, anxious for what another evening with Luke. Around 7:45 Lorelai entered a dead diner. "Did I miss something; has the health inspector been here?"

"No, I closed early."

"You can do that?"

"You can when you're the boss."

"Wow, note to self: own my own business," as she sat down at the counter.

Luke smiled at her, "you look… great," still finding it awkward to compliment a woman.

"Thanks, you clean up nice your self," noticing he shaved for her.

"Soooo," Luke rubbed his hands together waiting to get back to cooking upstairs for her. "How about we go upstairs?"

"What's upstairs?" Lorelai was confused.

"My … apartment," realizing for the first time he never told Lorelai that before.

Lorelai thought he'd had romantically closed the place down for her and would make her something in the diner. _I should go; I should walk out that door right now. I mean alone with Luke… in his place? That could be bad or good… no definitely bad!_ There was just too much potential to even think about. She wanted to be alone with Luke, but she wasn't sure she could trust herself. "Okay," Lorelai whispered, _damn it._

Luke smiled and took her hand; he held it as he led her up the stairs.

_Well it would have been rude to leave,_ she reasoned, and Lorelai felt the need to make small talk again. "So you live above the diner?" _Convenient, in more ways than one _

"Yeah, it was my dad's office when this was his hardware store." _Okay maybe talking about your folks isn't the best idea for the start of a date, Danes. _

"Uh huh," Lorelai was only half listening, feeling the anticipation of what may happen behind the "Williams Hardware Private" door and tried to relax.

Once inside, Luke showed her around the one room apartment, "It's not much … ummm you want a beer …wine… water?"

"Ummm sure" trying not to stare at the open bedroom like as if it was a sore thumb, _Slow down missy, _"I mean, I'm not gonna drink that all together, obviously, … I mean whatever…"

"Are you okay?" Luke began to suspect Lorelai had somewhere better to be.

_It's really cute when he raises his eyebrow like that…_ "Yeah, I'm fine, I just…" _have a kid I never mentioned to you before… and can't help but have impure thoughts when you look at me like that… with a bed not 10 feet away. _Lorelai knew that would kill the evening before it began. "I just had … a weird day… I've been looking forward to this … please… can we… just start over… or continue… minus the weirdness…"

"Sure," _she's been looking forward to it… _

"… soooo, what are we having?" still trying to get her nerves in check.

"Well I thought you'd might be bored with just burgers and fries," teasing her about her recent discovery of his menu beyond the breakfast section, "… soooo I made… stuffed lamb chops."

_Insert double take here…_"You… made … lamb chops…?" _for me? Okay that is the fanciest meal any man has made for me … ever…well the despite that chef mom hired… Anton. The fanciest… date meal a man has made for me ever…_

"Yeah?" he shrugged.

"Lamb chops?"

"Yeah"

"But you run a diner…" it didn't compute… a gourmet meal like lamb chops from the flannel man.

Luke didn't know if he was trying too hard, but in his own stupid way …he wanted to impress her, and he handed her a glass of wine that would compliment the entrée, "Oh I'm a man of many talents…" and Lorelai decided she couldn't wait to discover them all.

It seemed really immature to her, to be so giddy over having a real grown up date, it almost felt surreal, like it was some movie or TV show. For 10 years, Lorelai's only regular companion was Rory, and that was fun in its own way. However, it was a very different matter to dress up nice for a gentleman who was making an incredible dinner _just for me._

Lorelai's last date involved a drive thru and a pregnancy test, because Chris didn't believe her at first. So you can imagine how stuffed lamb chops and wine was a very nice change, a very nice way to get back in the saddle. This was also her first real date with a real man. Luke was about 30… and she was 27. It was stupid, she knew that, but she kept smiling like a lovesick teen. Lorelai kept thinking of Luke bribing the theater manager for their first date and she finally had to blurt out… "Did you arrange for the movie on Thursday...?"

Jarred by the abrupt segue Luke asked "what?" looking up from setting the table.

"They were gonna play Apartment for Peggy. But they played Labyrinth instead because … you arranged it…"

Wondering if she was some sort of telepath from Star Trek, Luke asked, "How did you know…?"

"I over head a Jean Crain fan complaining at the Inn." It was obvious he was a little embarrassed by his romantic gesture; he had clamed up, his attention absorbed in fixing her a plate.

"Why? Why did you go to all that trouble…?"

"I don't know, you said you liked it, I had never seen it… plus … I don't know… I wanted to stand out," Not really knowing how many men must try to pick her up in a week's time. "I wanted it to be …special ... for you."

Luke had paid attention to the little details of their conversations and wanted to make sure she had a special evening with him, a memorable evening. "It was … very special", the opening small talk coming to an abrupt halt… Lorelai suggested… "Maybe we could have them play Apartment for Peggy next time…"

"Yeah …okay" … _next time… _Luke smiled and pulled out her chair and set her plate in front of her.

They had simply talked about their days, Lorelai explained how difficult it was to pull off a wedding, "for all the money and time they put it to it, it's a wonder the divorce rate is as high as it is", and Luke loved to watch her as she held her glass, telling another one of her off the wall guest stories. Since they had a mutual friend in Sookie they also exchanged some of her more fantastic injuries they had witnessed.

After dinner, Luke smiled at Lorelai; she had made herself right at home, having kicked off her shoes, and was lying down on his couch while Luke diligently did the dishes.

"Why do you have to make such good food?" she complained, knowing she ate too much. Luke's dinner was so delicious she forgot all pretense of eating like a bird. _I think I already blew that at Sniffy's a few nights ago._

"Well that is what the windows down stairs say."

"I'm heading into a food coma, seriously I can not move," with her stomach full and comfortable on the broken in couch, not caring if she ever moved again, "You did this on purpose… to keep me here."

"Awww, she's on to my evil scheme."

Thinking of how their last date ended, thinking of their last kiss, Lorelai asked mischievously "What else did you have in mind?" as she propped up on her elbows. Lorelai watched Luke as he paused, mid scrub, then went back to focusing on the dishes, embarrassed by what she was suggesting.

_That's sooo… cute. _Unable to take her eyes off him … Lorelai decided there was too much space between them, "Luke, come here."

"I'm doing the dishes…" after a comment like that, he didn't know if it would be wrong to kiss her now.

"Let 'em soak… now come here…"

"Are you always this bossy…?"

"Maybe…" Lorelai tried to look innocent.

Luke walked over to the couch drying off his hands, "what?"

"Sit," She pulled on his arm.

Tossing his hand towel on the coffee table, Luke did as he was told, "now what?"

Lorelai got up from the couch and pushed Luke lay down, the opposite way she had been moments before. At first he thought Lorelai was going to do the dishes for him. Obviously he didn't know her very well.

"You comfy?"

"Yeah" still trying to see her game.

"Good", and Lorelai found enough room so they could lie on the couch together. Resting her head in the crook of his neck, and enjoyed his good man smell, "hmmmm, much better. See now we can succumb to the food coma together," she grabbed the remote and turned on his TV.

With the TV on they didn't have to talk, and Lorelai found an obscure movie, but Luke wasn't interested in it. He only played with Lorelai's hair, rubbed her arm that was resting on his chest, and tried to ignore her breasts against his ribcage as she breathed in and out. All in all, he felt this date was going pretty well, since Lorelai had three helpings of chops.

Lorelai wasn't paying attention to the movie either; she was too distracted by being so close to Luke. Wishing he'd make a move, _I've set the stage buddy;_ Lorelai looked up at him and didn't say a word. Noticing her movement, Luke met her eyes. The TV program forgotten, they began a staring contest, wondering who was gonna act first.

She kissed him first.

When she pulled away she waited a moment to open her eyes, like she wanted him to process what happened, hoping he liked her forward approach. Lorelai saw his content face was searching hers, and to fill the awkward moment they were having she said "Thank you … for dinner."

"My pleasure."

She kissed him again, this time on his cheek and made her way to his ear lobe.

"Lorelai…"

"Shhhh" and she met his lips again.

They slowly eased into kisses, to which Luke was an eager participant, perfectly content if it didn't go beyond that … well, almost. After about 15 minutes of roaming hands and lips, Luke knew he was on the edge of loosing control, "Lorelai …maybe we should stop…" he suggested in almost a growl, still wanting to give her the opportunity to say "no".

"You were a gentleman last time," Lorelai reminded him, whispering in his ear and completely in the moment, "remember?"

"Lorelai, really … we don't have … to …if … you don't…" struggling to keep his breath regular.

"I want to."

"You sure?" forcing her to look him in the eye, again staring down her beautiful blues.

"Luke, kiss me."

So he did, slowly, sweetly, but it was soon realized the couch was too small for what they had in mind. Lorelai proved her resolve, when she took his face in her hands, and guided him up from the couch, and wanted him to walk over toward his bed with her. Then, Lorelai felt the need to clarify something though, so she pulled away again, "Luke."

"Yeah," but he diverted his attention to her neck as they stepped.

"I don't usually do this? You know, move so fast."

Luke pulled away from her neck, he was self conscious all over again, "neither do I … " he whispered, and he loosened his arms around her, confused why she had come on to him, but Lorelai kept him close.

"No, Luke … it's just …I didn't want you to think that … I did this a lot."

"… That's … not what I thought."

"Good. Because I don't … I …actually haven't … for a long … long, time … I'm just…" something about Luke made her feel she could be honest with him, Well, except honest with the fact that she had a daughter. "I'm … just a little … nervous," The only man to have ever seen her naked was Chris. Lorelai began to wonder if another man could make her feel that way, make her feel sexy, make her feel beautiful.

Luke put his hand on her cheek, "it's been awhile for me too."

Lorelai knew it was more than a line. In his eyes she saw that he was sincere, that it was the truth.

"We were doing pretty good there for a while," He joked.

"Yeah," Lorelai smiled, "Well, from what I remember … we should be facing each other, just like this right?"

"Yeah?" he chuckled at her way of breaking the tension, her persistent humor.

"Okay … maybe … we should move …" and she looked over her shoulder to his bed.

**7777777777insert the MMMS that's right MAGICALMMS! 777777777777777 **

**7777777777777777 it's like a car starting ……… M M M S 777777777777777 **

**A/N: you guessed it THE MMS WOO HOO…. Ahem… you don't seem excited… I said WOO HOO **

**A/N: I'm sorry folks… but … they had to do it… it was lucky number 7…. **

**A/N: okay I have to tell you how damn proud I am of this chapter… how in a split second you go from funny ha ha to WoaW! Are they gonna do it…? OMG they are so gonna do it! LOL **

**Example: (it's worth another skim) **

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **

**"I'm heading into a food coma, seriously I can not move," with her stomach full and comfortable on the broken in couch, not caring if she ever moved again, "You did this on purpose… to keep me here." **

**"Awww she's on to my evil scheme." **

**Thinking of how their last date ended, thinking of their last kiss, Lorelai asked mischievously "What else did you have in mind?" as she propped up on her elbows. **

**Luke paused mid scrub, (- - THAT RIGHT THERE…. THAT IS THE MOMENT) then went back to focusing on the dishes, embarrassed by what she was suggesting. **

**_That's sooo… cute. _****Unable to take her eyes off him … Lorelai decided there was too much space between them, "Luke, come here." **

**- - - - - - - - - - - - **

**A/N: hope it was worth the wait. Crack whores…. Sound off! Lol **

**77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 **

**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund …**


	8. Kiss and …Tell?

**A/N: Insert Strong Bad voice:  
Like a Phoenix, from the ashes**

**...she rises again!**

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer:**** Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. WE just use the Gilmore Girls dolls during our slumber parties…. It's fun (shirtless Luke: with coffee pouring action, and the "Fry it and Buy it" Luke's Diner Play Set sold separately!) **

**R/R****: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q:**** What if LL hooked up when they first met? A bona fied woulda What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**OY, WITH THE INCESSENT A/Ns ALREADY: **

**A/N: thank you one and all for being fans of my writing… or as I like to call it… let's see how many scenarios Debbie can come up with to get LL in bed. LOL **

**A/N: I recently ordered my Luke's diner tee, my dragonfly tee and my dragonfly/Luke mugs from the GG store … I'm so damn HAPPY! But they are on BACKORDER! Not so damn happy! **

**A/N: what else is new in my life… I got a haircut now I don't look like the bird woman from Mary Poppins…. **

**…Oh and uhm proposed to me… LOL**

**And now… Written in the Stars continues… **

**(Hope jeepy likes infamous openers.) **

**77777777777777777777777777777777777777 **

**Chapter 8:  
****Kiss and …Tell? **

This was so different for Lorelai when compared to her previous experience. Back then, she was a teenager, hiding from her parents that she fooled around with her boyfriend simply for the pleasure of pissing the "adults" off, not for any pleasure the inexperienced pair could provide each other. As a teenager, one would do what you could, however fast you could without getting caught, just for that "I know something you don't know" feeling. If said parents ever found out, surely they wouldn't approve. As was the case with Rory's conception, and Lorelai was pretty sure that little miracle was on the balcony of her bedroom, and took less than ten minutes. There wasn't even time to enjoy the experience, or process what the deed really meant, it had been done for the sake of it being forbidden and to get Emily's goat.

However, this time…with Luke, not only did they have a bed, not only did they have an entire apartment full of privacy, but there was time to explore, react, and enjoy. Not to mention that Emily still didn't know and still wouldn't approve. Luke did make her feel special and sexy and beautiful, being alone and a mom for ten years had almost made Lorelai forget she possessed those qualities.

Lorelai looked up at Luke still catching her breath, "Luke?"

"Yeah?" Luke was still recovering himself.

"This has been a really great … Second date."

In the darkness she could see him smile, "Glad we're on the same page." Luke kissed her again, and they settled in each other's arms. Lorelai's head rested on his chest, and she traced tiny circles in the hair there, circles Luke mimicked on her bare back. They just held each other in the dark, still processing how fast this was for both of them. Each afraid that the other would think it was too soon or a mistake, yet each was strangely at ease with how right they felt together.

"Luke? … Remember when I said … I don't usually do this?"

"Yeah?" Luke was afraid where that loaded question might lead.

"Well, you're… only the second guy I've been with."

He was somewhat relieved, for as beautiful as Lorelai was, Luke decided to take that as a compliment, "Yeah?"

_See? What's so hard about telling the truth …_ "Yeah," she confirmed, "And for the record, you knew what you were doing"

Luke had to smile at that, Lorelai was blunt and honest, and Luke liked that.

"Luke?"

_And inquisitive,_ "Yeah?"

"How many… have you been with?"

"Guys? None," he answered dryly, _a very easy stat to remember. _

She swatted at his chest, "Luke, you know what I mean. How many notches are in the bedpost?"

"Counting you?"

"If you like …" suddenly wishing she never asked the question.

"… Two."

"Two?" Lorelai could hardly believe it, as gorgeous as the man was. "Is that … counting me?"

"Yeah."

"Only two? …" quietly pleased that they shared that in common, and Lorelai snuggled up close again, but then she had to know, "who was she?"

Luke rolled his eyes, not wanting to talk about another woman, only wanting to focus on Lorelai, "… my high school girlfriend."

"Oh," knowing a little about high school sweethearts her self, and the geographic proximity of small towns, Lorelai had to ask, "Is she … still in town?"

"No," grinning at her impulsive jealousy, Luke explained, "she left … for good," he reassured, "…That is why we broke up a few years ago."

_Together since High school, _"do you … miss her?"

"I thought we weren't supposed to talk about exes."

"There are a lot of things we weren't supposed to do, now just tell me."

Luke reluctantly revealed, "We were together for a long time, but she was in and out of town a lot, and she finally left for the last time ... two years ago, for good" he reassured Lorelai. "Everyone … thought we were gonna get married. I thought we were gonna get married." _Not the smartest thing to say in bed, Danes._

_Woaw!_ "What happened?" Lorelai hoped he wasn't still hung up on what's her name.

"Well, she wanted more than this … this town, this life," he shrugged "and this … this was all I've ever wanted." Luke thought of his simple everyday, of working right where his dad did, walking the streets he father did, and seeing the festivals his parents enjoyed together, all be it from a distance now. "just a simple life…"

"Seems like a perfect fit for me, too,"_ Preferable to high tea, coming out parities, and DAR luncheons._

Still enjoying her soft skin, he had to know as well, "What about you? Who was the guy?"

"Same. My childhood sweetheart." she thought back on those events, "kinda like you, my parents wanted me to marry him … at 16," she let slip… _Crap!_

"Jeez!" _Thank God you didn't,_ "This is Connecticut, not Kentucky."

_If he only knew the rest of the story, _"Yeah, well, they thought it would be for the best … They had it all lined up, Christopher was going to work in my dad's office, I would no doubt be forced to join the D.A.R. with my mother and fill my days planning events that I didn't care about or want to go to. And everything would have been perfect."

"…But you didn't want that," Luke had heard it in her voice.

"I wanted to make my own decisions. I wanted a life on my own terms." It was the most honest conversation she had ever had with Luke, and she liked that feeling. After the events of the night, she wanted more than anything to let him in, to get to know all about her…_ and my daughter._

"Did you get it?" he asked when he started playing with her hair again. He could tell she was speaking straight from her heart. She wasn't putting on a show now, wasn't making a racy joke for the attention. She was just Lorelai … honestly telling him about her life and self.

"Yeah, I'd say I did. My parents wanted to control me, and that is the reason I'm not that close with them. They still don't get it. I only see them at holidays, if that … and they only live 20 minutes away in Hartford." She lifted her head to look at Luke, enjoying the circles he was tracing on her back with his fingers._ Already crossed the parent talk line, oh well, _"What about you? Are you close to your folks?"

His gentle caress stopped in the middle of her back, and Lorelai knew she said something wrong. After a moment's recovery to the question, Luke explained, "My parents are … no longer … here."

Suddenly Lorelai felt horrible, here they were having a wonderful moment and she went and ruined it by bringing up her parents, then consequently his parents. "Oh Luke," not knowing what else to say, "Oh me and my big mouth," she buried her face in his chest.

"It's okay, you didn't know", and he comforted her blunder by giving her a squeeze and resuming the motion on her back.

Suddenly the pieces fell together, "William was your dad? William's Hardware?"

"Yeah, I got the store, when he…" Luke trailed off.

"…And that is why you kept the sign up? As a tribute to him?" finding Luke even more endearing, more fascinating.

"Yeah, I guess … he and I were… really close."

"… What about your mom?"

"Well, she died when I was just a kid. I only remember bits and pieces really."

"I'm so sorry Luke." she snuggled up with him again.

Luke broke the silence this time "Lorelai?"

"Yes Luke?"

"I'm glad you came in my diner that day."

She looked up at him again, "me too." Having had a very serious conversation with Luke and learning more about him made Lorelai feel a little better about going to bed with him so quickly. He was a good man, and maybe Sookie and Mia were right… Luke was different.

As Luke held her, his mouth was teasing her earlobes; she saw the time on the clock. _Rory!_ "Oh God! Is it really that late? … Oh, I've got to go," and she pulled away.

"What? Why?"

Unfortunately, she was tangled up in his sheets, "its late…I have to get home."

"Lorelai, you don't have to. Please … stay."

"Luke, I can't my da…" she caught herself before she said daughter, "… umm roommate is gonna worry."

Luke began to kiss her again to entice her to stay with him. "So call her … tell her you're okay … and stay."

"It's more … complicated than that …" Lorelai didn't want this to get spoiled so soon by him finding out the wrong way that she had a kid "I have work, and you have the diner and people need their pancakes in the morning …and … stuff."

"Lorelai please…"

She looked him straight in the eye, "Luke, I want to … but I can't … trust me on this, I can't …not tonight."

Reluctantly Luke loosened his hold on her, "alright." But before she disappeared again, he had to ask, "Wait, can I … see you again?"

"Don't you think you've seen enough of me?" referring to their current naked state, as she got her clothes together to get dressed.

"I _want_ to see you again …"

His sincere request touched Lorelai, but she thought about Rory, thought of what a bad idea it would be to continue this without telling him about Rory, thought about what an incredible date this was. Thought about how wrong it would be to lead him on, she thought about her schedule, with the inn and with Rory. "How's Monday night? Does that … work for you?" _Monday night… I will tell him… everything… _

"I'll make it work, another perk of being your own boss." Always the concerned gentleman, "Are you sure I can't … drive you home, walk you home…"_ know where the hell it is you come from._

Pulling on her jacket and finding her purse, "I'll be fine, my jeep is just outside, and ... it's Stars Hollow."

"But I'd feel better..."

"Luke, please," before he could argue further, Lorelai stole another kiss from him and she hurried toward the door to go back home to her daughter, where she belonged, "I'll see you later."

77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777

Lorelai hated herself. For about a 5-hour period she completely forgot she was a mom, forgot she had a little girl waiting for her at home.

Lorelai frantically opened the front door, "Sookie? I'm home, I'm here …"

"Hey" Sookie had a sleepy smile looking up from the couch. Sookie stretched as she put down the magazine she was "reading".

"How was she? Is she okay? Did she worry?"

"Lorelai, relax. She was asleep hours ago", Sookie knew they'd get to it eventually, but squealed, "Sooo, How was the big second date?"

Though Lorelai almost hated to admit it, "It was ... Great," Almost sad that she would have to give Luke up, especially after tonight.

"It better be more than great for 12:40 in the morning."

And guilt kicked in again, Lorelai put her head I her hands, "I know, I know, I'm sorry I just … lost track of time."

"Uh Huh." Sookie had several guesses for such tardiness.

"Was she mad?" Lorelai was till trying to get answers concerning Rory, trying to save her world's best mom title.

"She was fine!" Lorelai gave Sookie a look of 'be honest with me', "She was a little concerned around the second movie but she fell asleep and I put her in bed. So tell me," and Sookie dragged Lorelai over to the couch, "I want details."

"Can I just check on her first?" Lorelai pulling away, like a magnet was compelling her toward her daughter's room.

"Sure, sure, but remember details. I'm living vicariously through you!"

Lorelai crept into Rory's room and saw her baby girl out like a light, cuddled up with Cornel Cluckers. Lorelai felt horrible for having a social life, for sleeping with Luke, when she didn't even tell Luke she had a daughter, to at least be honest from the get go; For lying to her daughter about where she was tonight. They told each other everything, they were best friends first and mother and daughter second, and they never had secrets before. _There had never been a need before._ But this was different; this was a boyfriend, a boy between mother and daughter._ Is Luke my boyfriend?_

Lorelai shut the bedroom door, and returned to the living room, and had sadly convinced herself she needed to end things with Luke, "Oh Sookie what am I doing, I can't date."

"Seriously are we stuck in a time loop or something? Cause deja vu, we've had this conversation two times before. And I thought you said it was great… again?"

"I know, I know, …this is … just too hard… I'm lying to him; I'm lying to her… "

"Then simplify it… tell him… tell her."

"I can't. I just don't know, I mean tonight was…" She couldn't find the words for it, "There is no going back now. I don't know what the rules are… I've never dated as a mom before… I don't date because I have a kid and guys hate kids. I mean, I love being a mom you know I do, but … sometimes… a girl… wants a fella. I mean...Chris isn't an option … anything that was there pretty much died when he went to California." Lorelai began to pace and began to talk herself out of ever talking to another guy again, "And no guy would want to date a girl with a kid for fear of the instant daddy syndrome. And what if Rory gets attached to someone and then we break up…"

"Lorelai?"

"And what about his reaction to me having a kid? He'll be like 'why didn't you tell me?' and I'll be all 'well 'cause I thought you'd act like this'…"

"… Calm down," Sookie was concerned over the mile a minute pace Lorelai adopted.

"OH GOD! What if I get pregnant again?"

"Lorelai?" Sookie didn't understand where that came from for a minute.

"That would be just my luck. I can't go through that alone again? And then people will think I'm really slutty instead of just pretending to be…"

"Wait a minute … you and ... Luke."

Mortified, Lorelai only nodded.

"Tonight? Oh My God!" Sookie squealed excitedly again.

"I know. What if he bails too?"_ and he will as soon as he finds out I've been lying to him… and that I have a daughter. _

"Lorelai, you need to come down off this ledge." Sookie pulled her friend to sit beside her, "Were you two… you know, safe."

"Yeah?"

"Okay then…"

"But I didn't think before and now all I can do is think," Replaying the hundred opportunities she could have left and ended their night early before anything happened.

"Honey," Sookie wanted her friend to focus on the good, "Did you have a good time on your date?"

"Yeah, "Lorelai said in a very small voice.

"Does Luke want to see you again?"

Lorelai took a deep breath and admitted, "Monday".

"Well okay then, one step at a time."

Lorelai honestly didn't know what to do, "But what about Rory… how do I tell her… how do I tell him? He wanted me to spend the night, but I told him 'my room mate' needed me to come home."

"Well that is true enough, though she must owe you an awful lot of rent… especially when she was in there." Sookie poked at her friend's stomach. "Lorelai finally cracked a half smile. "It will be okay." After a safe pause Sookie had to ask, "So, how was the… you know…"

"Better than I remember." Lorelai wanted some information, so she played dumb, and she casually asked Sookie, "Has he ever dated anyone? Luke?" hoping she could get the real dirt on the high school sweetheart.

_Why can I never remember her name, _"There was a real serious girl for a while … I could ask Patty if you like."

"NO! No one is to know of this."

"Honey, if you and Luke are…" Sookie tried to put it delicately, "…. Spending more time together, people are gonna notice, it's bound to get out."

"And then get back to Rory, and everyone knows Luke, he grew up here. I can hear the start of that rumor mill, 'that hoochie single mom is going after good old Luke, he was a good boy till he met up with that Hartford hussy.'"

"Why are you the villain?"

"I don't know … Luke seems like the small town hero. He's a gentleman … honorable… everyone says good things about him …"

"And they don't say good things about you?"

"Hello, I'm the one that came on to him, I'm the one that started the kissing on the couch, I'm the one all 'hey let's move this to the bed', I'm the one that slept with him," Lorelai reasoned completely exasperated.

"Guess what? He slept with you too."

"I know, I know, it's just …"

"Lorelai everyone in town loves you… and Rory, they will be happy that you are… taken care of…"

"Hey don't put too much on tonight, and it was … just sex… it was … too fast … But …"

"But?" Sookie encouraged.

"There was something… I don't know… a feeling, an intuition."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah" Lorelai confirmed, loving the feeling of her new infatuation.

"You really like him."

"Yeah. And my God the man can cook, he made me dinner tonight. How perfect is that, I can eat and eat, he makes the best coffee … we fight but in a fun way…" she smiled again.

"What did he make…?" True to form, Sookie then became more interested in the food than the quality of the man courting her friend.

"Stuff lamb chops…" Lorelai knew exactly where this conversation was going.

"Were they better than mine…?"

_Yes._ "Aww Sookie, yours are way better," _though I can't remember the last time I had em…_ "It was just you know … really romantic that he made dinner for me, you know… to impress me…"

"Okay," Sookie seemed pleased with that answer;_ I mean he runs a diner for Pete's sake,_ slowly recalling the tidbits Lorelai frantically divulged during her freak out, Sookie had to know… "So… you came on to him?"

Lorelai was quick to defend herself, "Well …he was …being too much of a gentleman; I mean a girl likes to know she has the man's interest."

"I see," looking at her watch, Sookie realized the time, "Ooooo Look I gotta go, I'm on the 1st shift for breakfast."

"Oh Hon I'm so, so sorry I got in so late. Tell Rafael it's my fault."

"Lorelai, you are starting something new … with Luke. I'm just so happy for you. Just … don't freak out and ruin it." Sookie warned.

_Not freaking out… that's the hard part._

**77777777777777777777777777777777777777 **

**A/N: okay now what… I know I know… TELL LUKE TELL RORY… I'm getting there… **

**My FF is like an onion… it has layers… and kinda stinks? umm no wait.. My fan fiction… is like … a parfait everybody Loves parfaits… lol I'm in a kids movie mode…(must be my nephews.) the other day I was quoting finding Nemo… **

**77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 **

**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund …**


	9. The Morning After

**A/N: Insert Strong Bad voice:  
Like a Phoenix, from the ashes**

**...she rises again!**

**Written In The Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer:**** Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. WE just use the Gilmore Girls dolls during our slumber parties…. It's fun (shirtless Luke: with coffee pouring action, and the "Fry it and Buy it" Luke's Diner Play Set sold separately!) **

**R/R****: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q:**** What if LL hooked up when they first met? A bona fied woulda What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**Luvz:**** OMG your box is gonna be SOOOO PRETTY!**

**77777777777777777777777777777777777777**

**Chapter 9:  
The Morning After**

When Lorelai woke up on Sunday morning, alone in her own bed, she had almost forgotten she had sex the night before.

Almost

You see, Lorelai had a really nice dream about Luke, a dream that involved her own bed, and one that she wouldn't share with Rory till she was 21, _just another wedge between us. _The dream reminded Lorelai of what really happened at the diner man's pad, which further reminded her of the awkward situation she had gotten herself into.

As Lorelai stared at the ceiling she began to think of ways to tell Luke about Rory, but what could she possibly say, what words could she use to apologize to Luke for waiting to tell him so long? As Lorelai's pop tarts toasted in the kitchen, she didn't know how she was gonna face her little girl after having sex. Lorelai quietly nursed the first batch of coffee staring at her daughter's door, dreading the moment it would open. Would Rory Holmes, who had been so observant to notice her mother's change in coffee supplier, be so perceptive that she would see Lorelai's after glow, as well?

"Morning," Lorelai offered brightly when Rory emerged from her room.

With a grand yawn Rory nodded still sleepy eyed, "How many pots have you had?"

_Okay tone it down a bit…too perky. Well duh that's because you had sex last night… GAH! Umm okay…_ "This is the second pot," She lied, _again!_

"Okay… you are never buying that brand again," As young Rory put her head on the table.

"Pop tart?" _no questions, so far so good_

Rory only groaned an affirmative, hugging Cornel Cluckers and using him as her pillow on the table.

Lorelai thought she was in the clear … but as she set the toaster to warm the tart, Rory had to know…

"When did you get home…?" not used to her mother being out so late.

_Oh God… ummm what time did Sookie say it was again,_ "not till late, you were already in bed"

"But I was up till about… 11:30…"

_What was I doing at 11:30?_ "Oh yeah? Whatcha watch?"

In her drowsy state Rory was easily distracted… "Sookie let me watch the Princess Bride."

"Aww I love that one… you mind if we watch it again … Tonight, maybe?" Lorelai felt like she hadn't spent any time with her daughter for how much she thought of Luke nowadays. Even though in truth she was keeping it pretty balanced for the less than a week her and Luke had been "seeing each other" seeing each other. "I may have to work again… tomorrow night," Lorelai fibbed, thinking of the scheduled date with Luke and still not sure if she should cancel and call the whole thing off.

"What about Willy Jack instead?"

"How about both?" Lorelai smiled, as the toaster launched a hot breakfast for Rory.

"They don't really go together…" then Rory asked. "So how was your night?"

_Crap. _"Good, you know… crazy… we had some guests… who raised a fuss… over… something…"

"Uh Huh," Rory yawned again, not really paying attention.

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Then there was Luke. Lorelai still hadn't told him about Rory. Lorelai had never done the causal sex-dating thing before. She didn't know how to look Luke in the face after he had seen her completely naked. Lorelai was just trying to muster enough courage to walk into his diner again. She was still a little apprehensive about the whole thing and still conflicted. She knew it was right to be honest with both of them, but for ten years she had given everything she had to one little girl, her daughter, would it really be so bad to have this one thing… for herself?

Lorelai loved being with Luke, but maybe it would have been better if she had put off dating till Rory was a little older. Unfortunately it was too late for that now, they had slept together, and that made it harder to avoid him or let Luke go, or to tell him about Rory's existence without explaining why she didn't say something in the first place. In any case, she knew she couldn't avoid him forever, other wise he'd pick up something was wrong.

Later on the girls were doing some Sunday errands to prepare for their movie night, and Rory wanted to ask Andrew if he was getting in a new batch of Pride and Prejudice since her copy was ruined when it fell in the lake last summer.

So Lorelai took the opportunity, and went to the diner like she normally would on any other typical mid morning, wondering if it was too soon to cancel their date for Monday. "Hi… Luke…" _only the second man to see me naked…ever!_

"Oh hey," and Luke's smile returned, he knew she didn't normally come in on weekends, but he was happy to see her just the same, "Everything okay … with your roommate?"

_He remembered … that's so sweet_… "Aww yeah fine…her uhhh she just had you know, an early shift and I'm the guarantee of her waking up." _Yeah that's the ticket… Sookie is my roommate._

"How? … You can't function before coffee anyway."

_What? You sleep with me and you see inside my soul?_ "How do you know that?"

"Know what?"

"How I can't function without the coffee?"

"You've told me… repeatedly… like every morning for the first month after we met."

"Oh … right… I do talk a lot don't I?"

"Is everything okay?"_ She's acting weird again… is it because we…slept together? Oh boy…_

It struck her again, the concerned look in his blue eyes. "Yeah… everything's fine," Lorelai smiled, and she was like a schoolgirl again.

"Good, because I didn't … want, you know" He lowered his voice, "… last night … to make things, you know … weird for us."

His being so close filled Lorelai with that overwhelming feeling of her crush … although this now had to be more than a crush if they were… having in bed relations. "Nothing weird here," thinking of his hands on her the night before. _Stop smiling… stop… stop … you are an idiot._

"Soooo since we seem to be… seeing each other … every other day now… is it safe to assume we are still on… for Monday?"

"Yeah… we're still on."

"Okay… I'll see you here at 7:30?"

"7:30," She confirmed with the stupid smile. The suddenly realizing what she agreed to and not knowing if Luke just meant dinner or if his plan included their new extra curricular activity. Granted he didn't seem to be the nympho type, but she thought she'd clarify and blurted out before he got too far away…. "No dessert."

"What?" Luke was confused.

"When I come over… I don't want any … dessert." She tried to stress the last word, hoping he picked up her meaning.

"Okay?" Luke was still confused,_ she has three helpings of chops two servings of blueberry tarts and now she's watching her figure?_

"No, Luke. I don't … want… dessert." She emphasized,_ please work with the code man._

"Oh, oh dessert… okay … ummm got it…" Picking up the insinuation, hoping they'd talk more in depth about that subject later… in private, causally scanning the crowd in his diner, "So just the coffee to go?"

"Please…" knowing she needed to get back to Rory, and to get away from Luke, so she could find the words…_I have 24 hours to come up with something good._

Having cleared things up with the diner man, _well sorta,_ Lorelai met her daughter with a smile outside the bookstore. Rory looked up from her copy of Count of Monte Cristo, having made a special order for a new hardcover Pride and Prejudice placed with Andrew, and Rory frowned at her mother "You went to Luke's without me?" seeing the cup in her mother's hand.

_RATS! Caught… brown handed, _Lorelai could only explain…"Honey, I'm still in the screening process…"

"Well there must be something you like, you go there everyday now…"

_Ummm No comment,_ "Not…everyday," She shifted her shoulders hating that lying feeling crawling up her back. "Let's get the movies."

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Monday afternoon, Rory was waiting for Sookie to pick her up from school, knowing her mother had to work late that night. Rory tried to focus on her book, but her gaze kept drifting from the page toward the diner across the square.

When Lorelai had dropped her off this morning, Rory noticed her mother's Jeep rounded the square, only to park in front of Luke's. _Right… not every day…She goes to Luke's before work, has take out cups when she picks me up from school._ If Lane hadn't snapped her out of her pondering, she would have missed her first class.

Rory knew Sookie would be along any minute, she knew she should stay put, but curiosity got the better of our young Rory. With a determined expression she stood up from the school steps and crossed the square, having learned in geography that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

Rory noted the Williams Hardware sign, finding it a bit odd that no one had removed the sign before opening the diner. Rory was excited and nervous at the same time. She thought she had been all over this town 10 times over… but this was uncharted territory, quite exciting for an 11 year old. Rory was going somewhere new; this was a chance for exploration, to see how well she would be in a new place all on her own, without her mother, Rory saw it as a much needed test.

With a happy jingle above her head, the ringing tones seemed to make the new place even more inviting.

"You lost, kid?" a tall man with a ball-cap and a Coffee pot asked.

"No," Rory answered simply because she knew exactly where she was.

"Where's your folks?" the man seemed to be suspicious of a girl Rory's age going anywhere by herself.

"My mom's at work, and I don't have a dad… well, of course I have one… but he doesn't live here" again, she was just being honest.

Finding the girl's honesty refreshing, and not meaning to make her nervous Luke clarified, "You got money?"

"Yes."

"Have a seat. I'll be with you in a minute."

_A little straight forward, but friendly just the same, _Rory smiled to her self. Rory didn't want to feel guilty for taking up a whole table by herself, so she decided to sit at the counter, which must be where all the action was.

After Rory climbed up the stool, she recomposed herself and tried to act mature, older … perhaps, in this new place, she could get a cup of coffee, and be just like her mom.

"What can I get you?" the ball cap guy asked.

"Cup of Coffee please," she said with complete confidence.

Luke considered the strange request. He had seen this girl before, with Sookie at the town meeting; he figured maybe she was a visiting relative of Sookie's, but those … _eyes?_ They reminded him of Lorelai's "You want coffee?" it was too weird a coincidence.

"Yes please, " Rory was so proud of her self, she was in a restaurant, and ordering for herself like a big girl, but she suddenly realized she should get back to Sookie "Oh, To Go Please," she corrected.

Luke had to raise an eyebrow at this girl, wondering if he should interfere with whatever parenting styles would allow a kid to drink coffee so young. Again, the look of this girl reminded him of Lorelai, except this girl was actually polite. She had waited to be seated and had said please three times, as opposed to Lorelai who would just have burst in and demand Luke's attention right away. Granted he didn't mind giving his attention to Lorelai since he was… dating her… Luke's wandering mind snapped back to the present and pushing aside all the prep work he had to do for his dinner with Lorelai that evening. "Ummmm How about … chocolate milk instead…?" Luke tried to bargain, while trying to guess this girl's age.

"No, I want Coffee."

"Well, there is chocolate in coffee… in Mochas," Granted Luke never made those fancy pants whipped creamed coffees, but he had gotten a recent education with his acquaintance, Lorelai.

It sounded like a trick her mom would use, but this guy didn't know her mom, although she did come here every day, maybe he did? Maybe her mom had warned all servers about her, it did seem like Lorelai to think of every angle.

"But my mom drinks coffee?" Rory thought she finally had an in.

"Just because your mom does something, doesn't mean you should."

"But isn't she supposed to be my ... role model, my example?" Rory reasoned.

"Well, let me ask you this... is smoking bad for you?"

"Well … yes." she knew it to be true, all those TV commercials told her so, and her mom said it was gross.

"Well, my dad smoked, he was my example, and I saw that he got sick from smoking," Sparing the young girl the details, "So that is why I never did," Luke didn't know what compelled him to bring up his father, perhaps it was the easy to talk to blue eyes, "Sometimes we have to learn from our parent's... faults..."

"Please, I really want a coffee, how am I gonna know if I like it or not if I never try it?" In 11 years Rory had learned that her blue eyes had some magic power of persuasion.

"Did your mom ever once say you could have Coffee?"

"She said when I was 13."_ officially a teenager and all the rights and privileges there in._

"And you are now…?"

Unfortunately Rory was too honest for her own good, "11."

"Exactly…" Luke nodded, kinda admiring this girl's spunk and valiant effort to talk her way into getting what she wanted.

"Aww, Man." Rory hoped off the stool "I can't wait till my next growth spurt," and headed back to the school.

"You'll keep having growth spurts as long as lay off the Coffee," Luke called after the clever kid.

_Apparently you don't know my mom. She drinks gallons a day and is as tall and as pretty as a super model, _Rory internally fumed as she left the Diner. _Why does mom like this place so much any way? Probably 'cause she can get coffee_

"Rory!" Sookie seemed frantic and out of breathe. "Oh Honey don't do that to aunt Sookie…" Sookie then began to push on a stitch in her side. "Where were you?"

"Book store," Rory lied, hoping her big blue eyes would help sell it. Rory had learned the value of protecting adults from the truths they didn't need to know yet from her best friend Lane. Lane who always brought a change of clothes to school, or stopped by the Gilmore house to borrow Rory's. Granted Rory's mom wasn't so strict as to require floorboards being hollowed out, but Rory knew Sookie and her mother shared everything, and having never been in trouble before, Rory didn't want to know how her mother would punish her… if at all. _No sense taking any chances._

Sookie was still panting…"Umm Hmmm, Okay… well, next time… just…. Please… wait for me. Okay?"

"Okay … I'm sorry."

"Whew… okay let's get in the car…"

On the way home, Rory pondered the apparent required sanction on Luke's, and couldn't figure out why her mom was being so weird about letting her go there. There had never been an off limits area of Stars Hollow before. Her mother seemed to like it, and every thing Lorelai liked, Rory usually liked. If there was some reason her mother didn't want her to go to Luke's, well Rory just couldn't see it.

"Hey kitten?"

"Yes Sookie?"

"Don't tell your mom… you know… I lost you… okay?"

**77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 **

**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund …**


	10. No Dessert

**A/N: Insert Strong Bad voice:  
Like a Phoenix, from the ashes**

**...she rises again!**

**A Box Of Mallomars later…**

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer:**** Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. WE just use the Gilmore Girls dolls during our slumber parties…. It's fun (shirtless Luke: with coffee pouring action, and the "Fry it and Buy it" Luke's Diner Play Set sold separately!) **

**R/R****: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q:**** What if LL hooked up when they first met? A bona fied woulda What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**Luvz:**** ummm HI? Review any good fics lately? Hmmmmm**

**A/N: ****if you like my author's notes you should catch the LIVE SHOW!**

**A/N****: Why am I not on television? The eternal question is asked yet again!**

**77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
Chapter 10:  
No Dessert**

Mia had to smile as Lorelai made her way across the lobby.

"Well, Well, another date I see," taking in the special outfit Lorelai had changed into when her shift at the desk was over.

Lorelai stopped at the concierge desk and couldn't help but blush, "Yeah."

"You must really like him."

"I do."

"Have you… told him?"

"I'm going to… tonight."

"Well, that's good I think it would be better all around if everyone knew… I don't want to be come a villain, and have my darling Rory thinking I'm working her mother too hard. Have a good time tonight dear."

"Thank you Mia," With only a small guilt trip, Lorelai had never considered the others who would have to lie on her behalf to her daughter.

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Lorelai arrived at the empty diner, wanting to get the unpleasantness out of the way as soon as possible. If Luke accepted the news, they could talk it all out and still have a lovely evening together. If he didn't, she could go home straight away, change into her PJs and watch Love Story with her daughter, Rory none the wiser for her mother's need to wallow. _Man, I really do like him._

"Luke?" she called, wondering where he could be hiding, "Luke?" she went upstairs on instinct, and called again "Luke?"

He opened the apartment door, again sans ball cap, "Hey … you're early…"

"Oh yeah, …sorry…I'm usually late… but… I could go… and then come back… if you like…"

"No, come on in…"

When she entered the apartment, she saw noodles and some sort of filling on the counter, and Lorelai asked, "Oh you're… still cooking…?" wondering if her nerves brought her here a little too early.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I tried to close earlier, but Kirk wouldn't leave," Luke grumbled, and went back to assembling his lasagna.

_Do it now while he's distracted, maybe he'll only react with an "uh huh". …_"Luke …I have something to tell you…"

"Yeah?" He looked at her with those beautiful unassuming eyes, glancing up between layers of lasagna noodles and meat sauce scoops.

"I … ummm … well I…" _just say it, Luke I have a daughter… Luke you should know I have a daughter …_

"Lorelai…?" he was waiting, concerned by her silence.

Lorelai took a deep breath… "Luke you should know…" _I'm a huge wuss._

After another long pause … Luke encouraged her words again… "I should know…what?"

"That … I have…" _Oh God I can't do it!_ "That… I think I'm allergic to Oregano." _WHAT?_

"Oh… okay," _well… that is important information I guess,_ "... No oregano got it…" and he put the offending seasoning away before it caused his date harm.

Lorelai kicked herself for her lame escape from the truth, _Well, I know what I'm having tonight… chicken…_

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Lorelai pushed her stupid attempt at coming clean out of her mind, determined to have a good time, and she kept busy with his wonderful food "Why are you not serving this in the diner," she asked with a mouthful.

"Because it's a diner, and tours of countries are Al's thing. Have you ever been to Al's Pancake world?"

"Yes, quite familiar with his take out menu", she nodded then took another bite of fantastic garlic bread.

"Well, for an entire month he only made Thai food and no one could pronounce anything on the menu."

"You don't have to pronounce it to eat it."

"You do to order it."

Lorelai shrugged in agreement, "So when were you such a gourmet guy?"

"I told ya I knew how to cook… after my mom died the resposiblity some how fell on me, probably because my dad was absolutely useless in the kitchen… so for survival…" and he started clearing plates.

Resting her chin on her hand, Lorelai probed, "Did you go to culinary school?" Thinking of Sookie,_ maybe she should date him instead of me. _

"Nah, I taught my self… I mean I knew how to read a cook book and then… I just started doing my own thing."

"Really? Experimenting?"

"Sorta," he shrugged.

"How interesting, so how many tries did it take to get this lasagna?"

He sheepishly admitted, "About … 30?"_… More like 50_

"Ahhh, the Lasagna King. Well, this was really tasty, I thank you."

"You're welcome. Oh almost forgot, I made you some dessert…"

"I said no dessert…."

"I know, but you meant… _dessert_, not … dessert," as he held up a cheesecake for her, Luke hoped she picked up his meaning, his cheeks getting warm talking about sex…even in code.

"You didn't have to."

"I wanted to and you'll be hungry in like… twenty minutes any way and just because we agreed … no dessert here… didn't mean you'd have to… you know… not have dessert… at all …"

"What about my arteries?" she teased.

"Well you'll just have to exercise more…" realizing that could be taken as a dirty. "You know… without me… ummm that is…"

"I know what you meant… sooo ummm are you okay? … With the …no dessert policy?"

"Sure, I mean, Saturday… was…" and Luke couldn't find the words; he had been surprised they had moved so fast.

"Yeah, it was…" Lorelai agreed recalling her dirty dream, and the even better reality of the night in question.

"… But you know I want you to be comfortable… soooo" He sheepishly handed her the box, " anyway, I made you a cheesecake …to go with your coffee."

"A whole cheesecake?"

Luke nodded, "a whole cheesecake."

"Just for me? …" she smiled at the gesture, accepting the pastry box, "A girl could get used to this."

"That's the idea," he shrugged, respecting they both wanted to take it slow from now on… sorry to see her go, but Luke knew it was for the best.

Lorelai's affection for Luke just swelled further; she knew that breaking it off with him wasn't even a consideration anymore. She just had to find a way to tell the truth. Lorelai followed as he led her to the door and she gave him a tempting good night kiss.

Despite her wiles, Luke pulled away and was still ready to walk her downstairs, outside to her Jeep, and go their separate was for the night, but before Luke's hand could reach the door handle to escort her out, Lorelai stopped the door from opening with her free hand.

"Lorelai?" Luke had to ask.

She turned to Luke and looked him straight in the eye, "I don't wanna go."

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"You're getting crumbs in my bed," but Luke still enjoyed the sight of a half naked Lorelai, wrapped in his sheet, eating the cheesecake he had made for her. She was sitting up on her side, and he was lying down, a little distracted as he stroked her exposed leg.

"I'm sorry, but we just burnt a lot of calories," _Maybe I'm the nympho? _But her laughter faded again when she saw the clock, and put down the cake on the night table.

Seeing where her gaze fell, Luke requested, "don't go." He had been sleeping alone for so long; he realized he liked having Lorelai there. He hardly got to see her in the diner now. Tourist season had started and they were both busy at their respective jobs. She had more guests to take care of, her training to focus on, the diner was more crowded than usual and they couldn't talk at the counter like they used to, well in the first month they knew each other. Luke had only been on a few dates with her but they were the best dates he'd been on in years… they were the only dates he'd been on in years.

"Luke… I have too."

"Why?"

Lorelai wasn't ready for the interrogation. "I have work, you have work… it's just easier this way…"

"You're not … married are you?"

"What? No!"_ That's not it._

Luke was visibly relieved, but he almost hated to ask, "Is there… someone else?"

_Yes, my daughter…_ "No, no of course not," and she kissed him for being jealous.

"Then I don't get it, you're a grown woman, you don't live with your parents so curfew is not an issue … "

"Luke, I promise this will all make sense… I just … I haven't dated for a long time …I just need a little time… to get use to … us."

_Us? I like the sound of that._ Luke knew obviously they were seeing each other regularly, they had a few dates, had slept together, twice now, which meant an awful lot to Luke, but he didn't know if titles of boyfriend and girlfriend had been bestowed. Luke took one last guess "Are you a super hero running off to fight crime?"

"Yes that's it exactly."

"In that case… go." He resigned, "I'll see you in the morning?"

"Yes, you will."

_Only not the way I'd like,_ Luke frowned, as Lorelai got dressed.

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**A/N:**** does anyone remember in BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN … when Lorelai said ****I think I'm allergic to oregano so hold that, too, and some coffee." when she was giving Luke a hard time about his special omelet… no one? Just me... okay… now I have fully exposed the total GILMORE FREAK that I am that I know this info off the top of my head… hehehehe **

**A/N: hey I have my own version of Luke's Special omelet… it includes Luke… ummm let's see NAKED… in bed… that's it… I'll take two… I have quite the appetite… **

**A/N: Okay remember when Lorelai wouldn't tell Rich/Em about Jason…. SAME situation here (only her guy is WAY, WAY cuter…) I mean she's trying to avoid conflict… and here she is even less mature then the Lorelai we know and love. I know… she's mature? Any way… I have a grand plan a grand scheme that hopefully you all will like… please play the trust game a little while longer… **

**But suggestions are still welcome… **

**A/N: rich and em are gonna find out that Rory lost her flower soon I SOOOOOOOO can't wait for that… but of course they are gonna blame that on LORELAI… **

**EMILY: What kind of mother are you to allow this to happen to her?  
LORELAI: Oh, I don't know, Mom. What kind of mother were you? **

**7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
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**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund …**


	11. Luke’s FUNK

**Insert Strong Bad voice:  
Like a Phoenix, from the ashes **

**...she rises again!**

**DIRTY!**

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. WE just use the Gilmore Girls dolls during our slumber parties…. It's fun (shirtless Luke: with coffee pouring action, and the "Fry it and Buy it" Luke's Diner Play Set sold separately!) **

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: What if LL hooked up when they first met? What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**Luvz: HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY! (Well on MONDAY…)**

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CH 11:  
Luke's FUNK**

As promised, Lorelai made a brief visit to the diner in the morning, her mind made up that she still wanted to see Luke. It wasn't until she left for work that she realized that they hadn't made plans for their next date when she left his place last night or the diner this morning. Luke had made a joke in passing that they seemed to see each other every other day, but that kind of reliable pattern may raise Rory's suspicions. Lorelai couldn't exactly bring up their dates in the middle of the diner, for fear of it getting back to Rory. She began to wonder if Luke had told anyone about their relationship. Lorelai couldn't help but obsess over these questions. Just as Luke didn't know where she lived, she had no idea what his home phone number was.

By Wednesday, Rory was ready to ask, "Mom, can we have a movie night?"

"Sure baby, what do you want to rent for Saturday?"

"No, I want a movie night tonight… your new schedule has thrown off our regular Movie Night schedule …"

"We watched one on Sunday, remember Willy Jack?"

"But it was a Sunday…"

"So…?" Lorelai still did not see her daughter's point.

"So it interferes with focusing on the movies, which is the real purpose of a Movie Night. When you have it on Sunday you only get this guilty gnawing feeling in the back of your mind, like 'Oh well, it's the beginning of another school week', and you can't give the movie your full focus because you know you can't stay up that late…"

"Well, what's the difference today on Wednesday?"

"Mom? You forgot…"

"No, I didn't… what'd I forget?"

"I don't have school tomorrow, parent/ teacher conferences?"

"Oh right…" _that's why I have off tomorrow_ "so… that means you can stay up late?"_ and that means I can't see Luke._

"Yup… though I wish they'd make the conferences on Friday, then I could have a three day weekend…."

Rory was right, technically this should be time mother and daughter spend together, and even though Luke didn't know she was a mom, Luke never firmed up this evening's plans so, Lorelai decided to focus on Rory, to make up for her guilty conscience. The girls easily made impromptu plans together for Rory's day off. They would still get up like normal for the week, and be the first ones to be seen and thusly out of the way. When the required meeting concluded they could to do whatever Rory wanted with their mutual day off. Lorelai knew this would most likely include going to the bookstore for hours, see what was playing at Black White & Read, and Lorelai got the idea for a fun picnic in the park, complete with takeout's best! This would make up for missed Movie Night, and Lorelai wouldn't feel so bad, that is until she'd have to make up the missed date to Luke.

It wasn't long before Lorelai's "let's blow Luke off for not making a real date for tonight" resolve failed. Lorelai promised Rory she would finish the provision shopping for Junk Food and flicks while Rory was visiting Lane at the Kim's Picket fence, and she zeroed in on the nearest phone booth, she knew she had to clarify things with Luke.

"Luke's"

"Are we on for tonight?"

"Who is this?"

"It's … Lorelai," she replied timidly, wondering how many other girlfriends he had.

"Oh hey? ... I thought so… is tonight not good for you?" He could almost hear it in her voice.

"No, we had a sudden crisis at work… and well … I have to work" _Great now I'm lying to him._ "Judy called in sick, and Mia needs me,"_ yeah Judy blame Judy._

"Oh, okay… well, we can reschedule…"

"Thanks Luke. I'll see you in the a.m.?"

"Alright… good night."

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Sookie came out of the Independence Inn's kitchen looking for Mia, but was surprised to find Luke wandering the Lobby instead. "Oh, hey Luke."

"Hey Sookie."

"What're you doing here?"

"Well Ben has things under control, so…" Luke knew that Lorelai and Sookie were best friends. Although, at that moment, Luke felt stupid for trying to be romantic and to get information from the best friend; "Actually… I was looking for Lorelai… thought maybe we could spend her break together." _I wonder if she's told Sookie we're … seeing each other._ He'd find out soon enough.

"Oh, she's not here," Sookie dismissed her common knowledge, her tone callous from Luke's point of view.

"She's not?" Luke's enthusiasm dimmed.

"No, silly, she only works the day shift now; she likes to have her nights free," _So she can see you… well and her daughter…_

If only Sookie had said half of that last part out loud.

"Oh… I must have misunderstood," And Luke abruptly left the Inn. "I thought Judy called in sick…?"

"Judy? …Oh Judy…I think she got fired last week… probably for calling in sick all the time."

"Oh… okay… ummm thanks Sookie…"_ why would Lorelai lie?_

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Thursday,

While Rory was busy smuggling a CD over to Lane's before Mrs. Kim was ready for her own parent conferences, Lorelai went to the diner for her morning coffee, "Hey Luke."

"Hey," he answered shortly.

_Okay? Weird… not as warm and friendly as I'd expect from the man I've been sleeping with. _"So, um, I really appreciate… you being so… understanding about last night…"

"Oh really?"

There was something pointed about his tone, "Um, yeah? And I was wondering… if we could reschedule our date now…? Friday is usually a date night,"_ Which still makes Saturday the usual Movie Night._

"Well, I don't know."

Lorelai was thrown for a second, "Why not?"_ Oh God, please tell me he isn't done with me…_

"Are you sure that the Inn won't need you?"

"Well, I don't always know…"

"Well, how about when… what did you say her name was?"

"Um, Judy?"_ She was always calling in sick anyway._ Lorelai played along with his questioning.

"Right, how about when Judy is fully recovered… we reschedule."

Luke was so cold and distant… Lorelai began to wonder what she did wrong "But … I liked having our… every other day dates…"

"Well, Mia needs you so…"

"Well, you know, all work and no play…." And she flashed that dazzling smile at him again.

Luke had to give Lorelai credit; even though he was mad at her for lying to him about working, she was persistently trying to spend time with him. Even if there was someone else… she was choosing to be with him. So, he broke down, "Maybe…"

"Okay then, tomorrow night?"

"Sure."_ In the meantime, maybe I can get the whole story._

"Is everything okay?" Lorelai was still worried about his indifferent behavior.

"Fine," Luke said as he went to settle a bill at the register.

"Right…. fine," and she sipped her coffee as she left, looking back at Luke before she went out the door, trying to figure out what was going on under that ball cap of his.

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That afternoon, Lorelai ranted in a stolen moment with her best friend while her daughter was busy in the bookstore. "It was sooo weird. I mean he is the one who didn't say his usual 'can I see you again?' deal," Lorelai disputed as she paced on the sidewalk surrounding the square with the busy bods bustling about, preparing for the annual Stars Hollow Flower Show.

"Well, maybe he thought it was your turn to mention it… maybe he thought you were just being polite… by continuing to see him?"

"I don't sleep with someone for the sake of being polite," Lorelai commented dryly.

"Well, I don't know… I mean you like him… and he likes you… even the other night when he came to the Inn asking for you…I was like, 'how sweet of him'…"

"He came to the Inn?" _Oh no._

"Yeah, he wanted to see if you wanted to spend your break with him…"

"What did you say?"

"Don't worry, I didn't mention Rory… I just told him you didn't work nights…"

"Oh no, oh no, no, no, no, no… "

"What's wrong?"

"Well, to spend the night with Rory, I told him I had to work…"

"Oh no …" Sookie gasped as she realized her contribution to the situation. "What do you think he thinks?"

"Well probably that I'm lying to him…"

"You are lying to him."

"But I'm not cheating on him! Big difference," Lorelai defended, and then she added, "OH GOD… and on Monday, he asked me if there was some one else…"

"Well there is some one else … your daughter …"

"I know that! What must he think…" but Lorelai's worries over her boyfriend…had to be pushed aside, _is he my boyfriend?_

A "Mom!" was shouted from across the street. Lorelai turned and watched as her baby looked both ways and crossed the street at the crosswalk, and held hands with her friend Lane.

Rory was practically glowing over her new book. "Mom! Look, it's my new Pride and Prejudice… in hard cover!" _This one is printed to last!_

"That's great sweetie, "Lorelai tried to be enthusiastic and forced Luke out of her mind.

"Just smell it. It smells so new…"

"As opposed to the old copy which smells like mildew by now?"

"Didn't we throw it out?" Rory cocked her head to the side.

Lorelai scoffed, "You wouldn't let me, you insisted that we keep it until you got your new copy, and now, a year later…we can throw it out, my little pack rat."

"Well I learned from the best," Rory smiled.

Lane was beside Rory, a little timid, "Ask her…" she nudged her best friend.

Lorelai's mom radar was picking up subtle blips, "Ask me what?"

"Mom … can I spend the night over at Lane's… maybe… a few nights… strategically spaced apart…?"

"You mean purposefully subject yourself to multiple feedings of granola and tofu?"

"Well, yes…" Rory admitted.

"Why?" Lorelai's eyes narrowed.

Lane chimed in, "Well I have a little project… and Rory offered to help …"

"Ooh, a project…?" Lorelai nodded her head with interest. "What kind of project?"

"Well, it's a surprise actually… for my mom," Lane thought that would sell it better.

Rory, good honest child that she was, grinned, "You mean to keep from your mom."

"Rory…" Lane couldn't believe Rory would offer up the secret to her mom like that, she was still getting used to the fact that they could actually be honest with Lorelai, 'Cause she was cool.

"Okay, okay… what's going on…?" Lorelai finally asked.

"Lane has run out of room in her… secret closet…" Rory explained. "And she wants to…. expand …her storage…."

"By…?" Lorelai encouraged the justification.

"By … hollowing out her floorboards…?" It was then that Rory began to wince. _Even my cool mom may not go for this_.

"What?"

Lane had pitched this idea to Rory months ago, and they finally had it all planned out and were ready to take action. "Her floorboards are the perfect size to file CDs and her mom will never find 'em…"

"Not until she gets the CD sniffing dogs!"

Rory begged, again using her persuasive eyes, "Mom, please… I wanna help Lane… you yourself said no one should be denied the Bangles now that they are on CD."

"How are you gonna do it without Mrs. Kim finding out?"

Lane took that question. "Easy. She is holding choir practice at our house for the next few weeks. We just have to pry in beat to the music and we're all set."

Lorelai sighed. "Alright, though you force me to walk a fine line with the Mom Code."

"You are the best mom ever!" Rory shouted, and gave her mother a tackling hug, knocking Lorelai to the ground; both brunettes laughed at their less than graceful display, not caring about the stares they were getting from Taylor's busy worker bees.

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Friday,

Rory kept asking about Lorelai's nights at the Inn, and how long until Carly went on maternity leave, while in the back of her mind Lorelai was missing Luke. She made a point to remember to ask him about their plans for that evening. Lorelai discreetly glanced across the square, hoping for a glimpse of her beau as she dropped Rory off at school. Once Rory was safely inside, Lorelai's eyes fixed on the diner. She could almost smell his coffee. She didn't even bothering with her Jeep, and made her now second nature way across the square for a morning visit with her favorite coffee supplier. It was then that she saw there was an unusual amount of pedestrian traffic, and the crowd was gathered outside of Luke's. Lorelai wondered if the town knew about them. Wondered if his visit to the Inn had tipped everyone off. She cautiously and casually approached up to Miss Patty. "Hey Patty, what's the trouble?"

"Luke's is closed…"

_Okay, not what I was expecting, _as she tried to pick her jaw up off the ground, "What? Why?"

"Apparently… he's gone fishing." Kirk stated the obvious, reading from the cardboard sign in the window with a monotone a P.I. would envy.

Lorelai was confused. "That's it… he's gone fishing? Not mention of where or when he'll be back?"

Babette's raspy voice chimed in, "I think he got bad news from the bank…. Maybe he's gonna loose the diner…" she speculated to her neighbors.

Taylor chimed in "I have noticed he's been closing early lately…"

Babette jumped on that logic train. "Yeah, I noticed that too."

Taylor shrugged. "Maybe he runs out of food to serve…. Honestly, I run a grocery store… but he is too proud to cross the street and would never accept any help from me if his life …"

_He closes for our dates, you nosey rumormonger _…Lorelai pushed the insults aside, wanting to find her boyfriend, and asked anyone "Well doesn't he have a cell phone? Or some way to reach him…" Lorelai was starting to worry about more than her need of coffee, if Luke has skipped town.

"He doesn't believe in cell phones," Babette shook her head, "says they give you cancer."

"Or a convenient way to reach people!" Lorelai slapped her hands at her sides in frustration.

"Honey, I didn't realize you and Luke were acquainted…" Patty remarked, genuinely surprised, for she prided herself on being on the pulse of everything in this town. She tried to recall if she had ever seen Lorelai in the diner before, and Patty began to imagine the match of Luke and Lorelai, _suppose Lorelai is just the girl Luke needs to get over that Rachel._

Lorelai knew she should play it cool. "Oh well, you know, where there is coffee, there is me," she laughed… and tried to downplay her concern for the man she had been dating on the DL. "I'll just go to Weston's. Bye ladies…"

Lorelai hurried to the other side of the square, and Fran smiled at Lorelai's return to her bakery. "Oh Lorelai, we don't see you in here much now…."

"Oh well, you know… I hate that alarm clock… finally threw it against the wall and now I'm late for everything. Um, do you have any fresh coffee, Fran?"

"Why of course, it's always brewing …" Fran said with her usual sunny smile.

_Not as welcome a sight as Luke's butt… but okay. _"Thanks." And Lorelai looked back out at the chitchatting crowd in front of the diner… and began to worry about where Luke had gotten himself to and why.

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"2 days? It's been 2 days; he hasn't shown up…he hasn't called …" Lorelai was munching on whatever scraps Sookie could spare.

"Well honey, he doesn't even know where you live, how is he supposed to call?" Sookie finished chopping the walnuts for her salad, her contribution to the Independence Inn's lunch crowd.

For Lorelai, today was another maid day, which didn't help her mood, "Maybe he doesn't think we're that serious," Lorelai speculated on a stool by the kitchen's center island, with waiters and line cooks buzzing about, "you know, he doesn't need to call or tell me where he was going… but we…" Lorelai lowered her voice to avoid the rest of the kitchen staff hearing, "we've slept together for Pete's sake… doesn't that give me priority over the fish? And we had a date set for last night… Friday night is date night and he just skips town."

"Well, it didn't help when you shied away."

"Well, I was having guilty mother syndrome… I felt like I wasn't seeing my kid…."

"A kid he doesn't know about," Sookie pointed out as she went to pull the Gorgonzola cheese from the fridge. "I think Babette is right. Maybe the money isn't coming in the diner and he's gonna loose it… aw, that would be a pity." She shook her head as she crumbled the cheese in the serving bowls to top off the lettuce.

"He's not gonna loose the diner," Lorelai quietly dismissed.

"Aw, what if he has to start over in a new town…"

"He's not leaving town." _Don't even joke about that._

"Luke Danes, leaving everything he knows behind to start a new life far, far away…."

"He's not leaving town!" Lorelai insisted.

"Lorelai?" Sookie was surprised by her outburst. "You really care about him," she stated as she put down the bottle of balsamic vinaigrette she had sprinkled over the salad, happy that Lorelai may be taking the diner man seriously.

"Well, when you're … seeing someone"_ and sleeping with someone_ "… aren't you supposed to care?"

Rafael chose that moment to come in from his cigarette break. "You, maid… what are you doing in 'ere?"

"Talk to you later…" and Lorelai made a hasty retreat before the foreign head chef threw a pan at her head.

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"Mom, are you okay?"

"Yeah, Hon… why?"

"I don't know," Rory Holmes shrugged. "You seem… sad?"

"Well, I'm loosing my baby girl for the night. My usual entertainment for the evening," and Lorelai had to remind herself to force a smile.

"If it makes you feel better, it's for a good cause… the cause of Rock 'n Roll," Rory smiled enthusiastically.

"It does, baby…"

"Just think of it like… I'm going to work… and you can watch a movie with Sookie…"

"Yeah, okay…" as they reached the picket fence of Kim's Antiques, but Lorelai hesitated to go up the walk.

"Mom, you have to drop me off… at the door," the last phrase Rory droned to show her mom how ridiculous she was being.

"But Mrs. Kim is scary," Lorelai whined.

"I'll hold your hand the whole time," Rory soothed. "Besides, I have to spend the entire night with her…"

"Okay, okay you win." The pair knocked on the front door and cold pleasantries were exchanged with the Korean contingent of Stars Hollow.

Lorelai sighed as she found her keys again; dreading the lonely night before her until, across the square, she saw it.

_The Hulk… The truck… Luke's truck… he's back…_

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In no time at all, Lorelai was across the square, hoping her sudden speed didn't call attention to herself. She knocked on Luke's diner door. "Luke?"

His ball-capped head poked out of the back curtain and, when he saw her, his expression went from "annoyed" to "surprised" in an instant. Obviously, he wasn't expecting her. Luke opened the door with the familiar jingle above their heads. "Hey…"

Lorelai didn't know how to read his face._ Is he nervous… happy to see me? ... Um, surprised that I'm here seems to be a given…_"Yeah, hey?" Lorelai didn't know if he was mad about her lying to him that night over the phone, or if the town gossip was true, _does Luke really have the diner's finances weighing on his mind?_ "Everything alright…?"

"Um, yeah…" Again, Luke was an unconvincing liar.

"Okay…" she said, her tone relaying that she didn't believe him. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure…" and he made way for her, and then shut the door.

They just stood in an awkward silence for a while, not meeting each other's gaze. Lorelai didn't know how to ask where he was… but figuring if this was the end for them … it might be too emotional a conversation to have in the middle of the diner. "So, um… can we go upstairs?" _I have a feeling this is 'upstairs' talk._

"Sure," he agreed, only nodding his head, not taking his shy eyes off the ground. As Lorelai followed him up the stairs, she couldn't believe it was only a week ago that he led her up that same staircase to a romantic dinner and the first time they made love._ My God, it was only a week ago? It feels like longer._

They entered the apartment, both keeping a safe distance, both apparently not knowing where they stood because the last few days had been weird without seeing the other.

Luke didn't know if he could look her in the eye, but when he finally did, he was overwhelmed. Her eyes were orbs of concern and he wanted to kiss her again. So he did: he just stepped forward, took her in his arms and kissed her. Lorelai's arms slid around him, happy to have him back. There was an urgent passion in this exchange, and Lorelai breathlessly confessed, "I missed you," between the kisses.

"Me too," Luke agreed.

"Where did you go?" she asked as she ran her fingers through the hair peaking out from under his ball cap, still placing random kisses on him. "You didn't say anything? You were gone for days…"

"Checking up on me?"

"Well you know … you sleep with someone, you just get an urge to keep tabs on 'em," she said as she placed her hands on his cheeks, and pressed her forehead against his.

"I'm sorry," and Luke gave her a squeeze, "my … trip… was unexpected."

"Trip?" _Now we are getting to it._

"Yeah you know … fishing trip…"

"Well, sure, if the fish are biting …" Lorelai seemed to think he was looking at her differently. Something in his eyes, in his expression, had changed…

"Um, I know, I missed our date, but I can make it up to you…"

"Yeah? How?"

"Well, it so happens that I had a good fishing trip and I caught some nice… trout ... we could … have them next time you come for dinner."

"You caught a fish…"

"Yeah, a couple actually."

"You caught an animal and are gonna kill it and cook it for me?"_ Wow a man's man._

"Um, that was the general idea…" Luke replied, a little nervous she wasn't so keen on fish

"Well, I don't know … do they at least get a last phone call to their families?"

"Unfortunately, the fish are already dead," and they had a small laugh at the fishes' expense.

"Well, why can't we… have our make up date… tonight?" Lorelai suggested, knowing Rory was in good hands for the night.

"Oh well…" he seemed flustered. "I didn't know if you had already made … plans… you know… I was… gone… you didn't know if I was coming back…"

"I knew you would."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah… I knew…after all, I'm hard to resist," she grinned smugly.

"Yes you are…" Luke agreed.

7777AGAIN…I'm sorry TOM…have you read fundamental? I get a little dirty in fundamental, if that 7777 777777777777777777777777777 is what you are going for…7777777777777777777777777777777777

Lorelai just couldn't help herself, she loved being with Luke, especially now… naked, spooning with him in his bed, despite the fact that it was only a twin. She let Luke kiss her neck because he now knew exactly where she liked it, "Hmm, you should go fishing more often."

"I'll remember you said that," he teased, just happy she was with him again, knowing they had a lot to talk about …

"So, everything's good?"

"Mmh-hmm?"

"Did you get good news from the bank?"

"Huh?"

"Like a loan or something…"

"What are you talking about?"

"Your funk," Lorelai made clear.

"My…what? Seriously Lorelai, sometimes I don't understand a thing you say."

Lorelai rolled over to face the man she had a growing fondness for, _yeah that sounds more mature than having a crush. _"It had been reported that you were … in a mood for a few days there…"

"Okay?" Luke recalled the exact reason for his mood.

"Having seen these moods myself… well …it was speculated that you were… gonna loose the diner… because you weren't making any money…"

"What? Where are you getting this?" he asked, almost fascinated how a simple fishing trip could be so blown out of proportion.

"Town gossips…"

"And you believe them…?"

"Well you weren't here… to ask… soo…"

Luke took a deep breath and reassured her: "Everything is fine… I'm not gonna loose the diner…"

"But you were gone…"

"I know, I'm sorry… but I think we just made up for that…" He began playing with her hand.

It still gnawed on Lorelai that he wouldn't tell her where he went or the real reason why, even now that the gossips' theories had been shot down… but then she hadn't really told him the truth either… and she became distracted by the clock again.

Luke sighed, seeing where her gaze had landed. "Time to go already?" And he lay back down, settling in for sleep, basically letting her know she was free to go. No heart feelings.

"No arguments?"

"You have your reasons… you'll tell me… when you're ready…"

Instead of leaving, Lorelai turned her body completely towards Luke and pulled the covers over her bare shoulders, settling in for the night.

"Don't you have to get home?" Luke asked, confused by her relaxed body against his.

"Not tonight… I'm all yours, all night," and she slowly smoothed her hand across his stomach.

"Good to know," loving the feeling of her in his arms.

They became quiet, just on the edge of falling asleep, "Luke?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you my… boyfriend?" she asked hopefully through drowsy slits.

"If you like?" he mumbled, barely playing with her hair, as he was dozing off, and a smile formed on his face. Luke knew they were seeing each other regularly; they had a few dates, and had slept together a few times, which meant an awful lot to him.

"I would like… very much."

"Okay then."

Lorelai still felt guilty; naturally she should tell her _boyfriend_ that she had a _daughter_. She was so comfortable and warm, but she knew it couldn't wait, so her mouth still made the effort, "Luke…"

"Hmm?"

"I have to tell you something…"

"Lorelai … tell me in the morning…" He gave her a reassuring squeeze.

_By then I'll loose my nerve…_ "No Luke…" and she stifled a yawn, _damn body giving out on me._ "I have to tell you now…"

"Lorelai… it'll keep till morning, trust me…"

"Okay …" hating that he wouldn't listen now, but Lorelai needed one more dig in before they dozed off, "Luke?"

"Hmm?"

"You need a bigger bed," she mumbled as she fell asleep in his arms.

**77777777777777777  
AN: I know Kirk was originally Mick. Or what ever but here he is Kirk… I tell you I should be the consistency director of the show. My whole job would be to research the discrepancies and prevent the flaws for example (watch Gilmore girls over and over…and get paid for it AWESOME!) … To have them say Rory never shop lifted? HA I say, how soon we forget the cornstarch in kiss and tell. Hmmmmmmm?**

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"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
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**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund …**


	12. Set The Record Straight

**A/N: Insert Strong Bad voice:  
Like a Phoenix, from the ashes**

**...she rises again!**

**DIRTY! **

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer:**** Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. WE just use the Gilmore Girls dolls during our slumber parties…. It's fun (shirtless Luke: with coffee pouring action, and the "Fry it and Buy it" Luke's Diner Play Set sold separately!) **

**R/R****: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q:**** What if LL hooked up when they first met? What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**Luvz:**** HAPPY BIRTHDAY … TODAY! **

**JEEPY:**** I can't even take joy in my Gilmore posters anymore… sigh**

**A/N: Everything you've waited to see, will happen …**

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**Chapter 12:  
Set The Record Straight **

Lorelai made an initial morning stretch and was surprised her bed wasn't as big as she remembered. She was also surprised that she wasn't at her house … and had company. Lorelai had never woken up with a man before. Lorelai had to smile at how different Luke looked in sunlight. It was a perfect morning, she was warm, and grinning, with the promise of a brand new day and naked with a handsome man beside her.

However the mom in her began to chip away at the perfect moment. Lorelai snuck out of bed, and pulled on Luke's T-shirt from the floor, she found her phone from her purse and gave Mrs. Kim a call. _Not the first thing I'd expect to do half naked in my boyfriend's place._ "Good morning Mrs. Kim," She whispered in the kitchen area, "How was Rory?"

"She was well behaved, did as she was told the whole night."

"Well that's good, may I speak with her?"

"No."

"No?"_ keeping me from my own child? _

"No, girls are still sleeping. Children require at least 8 hours of sleep every night."

Lorelai figured the girls might need the extra time, probably tired from their little wood working project any way, "Oh alright, well when she wakes up … please have her call me, let me know what she plans with Lane for the day? Or I could pick her up when ever it is convenient for you…"

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As Lorelai returned to the bed, Luke opened his eyes, "Hey?" Luke smiled, and took his turn to stretch in bed, and he loved the view of her legs in his shirt. "Where'd you go?"

"I just got a cell phone I wanted to check my messages," as she put the offense phone away.

"Waiting for messages from your other boyfriends?" he grinned, as Lorelai settled in his arms again, Luke informed in a tired monotone, "You know, you may get a brain tumor from that thing."

_So I've heard… _"It's a matter of convince, so I can be reached, or if I need it in case of an emergency?"

"It'll be real convenient when they shave your head to cut out the tumor." Then Luke seemed to ask the ceiling, "Should we … tell people we're seeing each other? I mean I haven't mentioned it to anyone. I mean, I assumed Sookie knows…"

"Yeah … ummm I don't know." She was going for nonchalant "I mean the way the gossips are in this town…" _they'll run straight for my kid._

"Yeah, I really don't like the idea of having my love life being debated in a public forum…" recalling how things were when Rachel left, people freely and callously offering their opinions on the situation.

"Yeah … me neither," recalling the debate her parents had with Strobe and Francine, Christopher's parents, when they first found out about Lorelai's … situation in 1984._ Now is as good a time as any…_ "Luke?"

"Yeah"

"I have to tell you something, and I'm not sure how you're going to react. So please just hear me out, start to finish, no interruptions."

"Okay?"

"Remember when I told you … about the other guy, my high school boyfriend."

"Yeah"

"Well, when I was … with him… something happened." Lorelai steadied herself, she couldn't do this half assed; she had to tell Luke the whole truth. Luke deserved that. And if he accepted it they could just continue on, and if not, last night was a beautiful way to say goodbye. She couldn't even look at him to see his reaction, she had to just get through the story as detailed and as quickly as possible; her eyes were fixed on the ceiling and she told her story.

"… I got Pregnant … at 16. That's why my parents wanted us to get married. They thought it would be for the best. I went to school for as long as I could, I finished out my sophomore year… but the more I started to show… it was decided that I should just drop out …"

"I decided to keep my baby, so … I have a daughter, Rory. I named her after me. I mean guys do it all the time, right, heck; George Foreman named all his kids 'George' boys and girls alike. Well, it wasn't long before I couldn't stand being under my parents' roof. Their constant criticism of how I was raising my child. Rory was my daughter and I wasn't going to have her raised in that house with my mother and party dresses or cotillion. I wanted her to be … I don't know normal, to do what she wanted, not what was expected of her out of family obligation or just because everyone else had done it for years before her. So I … ran away, at 16 with my baby, I came here to stars hollow. I got a job at the Inn, and Mia gave me a place to stay so I could start over, and have the life I wanted."

Lorelai finally found the courage to turn her head and look at him. Luke was so still just letting her get it all out of her system. Unable to stand the silence, Lorelai tried to encourage words from him as she summed up, " So that's why I couldn't have you pick me up at my house, that's my deep dark secret… I have a daughter… I'm 27 with an 11 year old daughter." Luke was just lying next to her, thinking, she was starting to become scared, that this was it. This was the end. "Say something, please say something…" Just as Lorelai was mentally preparing to gather up her clothes Luke spoke.

"I knew."

Lorelai did a double take, "What?"

"I knew about her."

"How?" a shocked Lorelai searched the face of the remarkable resourceful man before her, thinking she had been so clever in hiding it from him.

Luke shrugged, "Small town. … Actually, I've only known for a few days, when I was … in my funk as you called it, I was… upset…cause I thought you weren't serious about … us… and well, I thought maybe you were seeing someone else. Then … Taylor was hassling me about my dad's sign again… worried about his stupid flower show… and … I saw you in the square… talking with Sookie… then …this little girl came up to you, like a little clone of you. I saw her with you and thought … she was a cousin, a niece … sister, maybe; well, I was on my way over to … clear things up… then she called you ... 'the world's best mom' and tackled you in a hug, and …I just stopped in my tracks." Luke took a deep breath, "I had seen her before at a town meeting, and thought she looked like you… but with this new… information… I went straight to Mia … and got the whole story… but I kinda like your version better."

Lorelai's mouth was gaped, "And that's why you went fishing?"

"Well… I hadn't been fishing in a while… I had to think about things… I mean it sorta threw me for a loop, I've known you like two months… we've only been dating … two weeks… I was… surprised… "

"And what did you …conclude?"

"Well … I think Mia said it best, she asked me… 'What are you upset about? That she has a daughter… or that she didn't tell you' …" Luke looked Lorelai square in the face again, "Naturally I wish you would have told me from the get go… but… I never asked either…"

"Well why would you… if you were seeing a normal girl…"

"I don't like normal… I like you. And … Rory," it was the first time Luke said her name, it was weird for both of them to hear, and sounded kind of funny with his deep voice, "she is apart of you…"

Lorelai needed to know, "so what does this mean?"

"For what?"

"For … us?" Granted, he had come back from fishing, and slept with her again last night, but maybe he didn't want the hassle of an 11 year old in his life.

"Well, I think it means I need to meet her … correction I want to meet her."

"Luke, you don't have too," still apprehensive about how Rory would take the news. Granted she lucked out with Luke.

"I want too."

"I'm not asking you for anything, you don't have to be a … a step father."

"Lorelai how are we gonna move forward if I don't meet her?"

_Move forward?_ "You still want to see me?" she still couldn't believe her luck.

"Of course," then Luke put his finger on her hesitation…"Does she … know about me?"

Lorelai shook her head, "No, I'm still not sure how she'd react to mommy dating. She just knows there is a guy named Luke who makes good coffee for me… "

"Okay … well, you're the boss, whenever you want to tell her, I'm fine with that… unless…."

"Unless?"

"… You … want an out… to break it off…"

"What? No, I don't," realize she may have sounded too eager, "I think last night proved … I like us too."

"Just checking … so where is she, that I could have you all night?"

"Kim's antiques, Lane Kim is Rory's best friend, they had a sleep over last night."

"And you had a sleep over last night…" Luke observed.

A blush came to Lorelai's cheeks, "Poor kid no doubt had tofu forced on her the whole night… "

"Alright, well if there's one thing I've learned about a Gilmore girl…. The way to her heart is through her stomach."

"You're really okay with this…"

"Yeah, but I have to ask you something… How did you get Rory… from Lorelai?"

Lorelai couldn't help but smile.

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Luke knew about Rory… that was progress. Even better he was okay with everything… they decided to slow down a bit and only have "dessert" if it wasn't a school night. This made Lorelai feel like she was in high school again, but Luke wanted Lorelai to focus on telling Rory, cause he wasn't comfortable with Lorelai lying to Rory about work to spend time with him.

Now Lorelai just had to explain things to Rory. Unfortunately, when Rory was in problem solver mode she thought about little else but the task at hand. Apparently the two 11 year olds weren't that hardware savvy, and not much progress was made on the first night of the floorboard storage project sleep over. In the following week, most of the Gilmore Girls time was spent at the library. While Rory was doing research on hard wood floors, Lorelai would flip through the current magazines near the newspaper rack reclining on a library sofa, much to the scowl of the librarian.

Rory would scribble down notes in a notebook, trying to draw blue prints and instructions for the best plan of attack.

By Thursday afternoon, Rory and Lane had no luck at the school library either, and upon leaving the school's walls of knowledge; Rory's answer seemed to be staring at her from across the square, if it was possible for a building to stare back at an 11 year old.

"Come on, "Rory told Lane, and started to head straight for the diner, "I've got an idea."

"Rory, where are you going? Sookie will be here any minute. I only have 2 hours to plan with you before my mom will want me home for dinner…"

"What this problem needs is a male perspective", and Rory held the diner door open for her friend.

Luke didn't usually regard the jingle, Lorelai mainly came in the morning these days, and they weren't having dinner till tomorrow night, despite his protests she should tell Rory before their next date. Luke stiffened up when he saw the girl in question enter with Lane Kim, and sit at the counter. This was the first time he had seen her now knowing her true identity. He wondered it this was the day… if Rory knew his true identity as well.

Both girls settled at the counter, and Rory smiled at Luke, recognizing him from her last visit, not knowing he was the infamous Luke who made her mother's coffee every morning.

Luke swallowed hard, hoping his nerves wouldn't give him away, "afternoon ladies… ummm what can I get you…?" and he forced his eyes to stare at his order pad and only at his order pad.

"I'll take you up on that chocolate milk now… and one for my friend here." Rory had always wanted to say that. She had seen similar versions of the phrase in movies, and it always sounded so cool. Granted she couldn't order anything too strong, knowing the nice ball capped man wouldn't give her anything stronger than milk any way.

"Ummmm sure…" and Luke went into the kitchen to prepare the milk, wondering if Lorelai had given Rory permission to come into the diner yet, maybe as a chance to get to know him first before she dropped the bomb. Without being sure, Luke knew he shouldn't say anything until prompted. He returned with the girl's orders, and was ready to leave them to their business of whatever 11 year olds talked about these days… but Rory stopped him.

"Could I ask you something?"

_Here we go, _"ummm okay…" and Luke steeled himself, hoping no one was eavesdropping.

"How much do you know about tools?"

"What?" and Luke was lost already. Rory was just like her mother, starting a conversation by abruptly asking a random question.

"Well you're a guy… are you a tools kind of guy?" Rory asked, pretending she was interviewing for an important newspaper story.

"Ummm yeah, I know a bit."

"How about construction …do you know like houses and things?"

"Actually… I've done a little construction work… from time to time," still trying to be vague on the details.

"Okay… what would be the proper tool to say…. pry up a floorboard?"

_What? _"ummm what is this for?" wondering if Rory was gonna tear apart her mother's house… or if there was some handy man type chore Luke could help Lorelai with … maybe while Rory was at school.

Lane jumped in… "Well, I need some …extra storage… in my room… it has hard wood floors… and well I was just thinking of all that … dead space beneath my feet… and I thought you know… maybe seasonal clothes… or old shoes…"

"Huh? Well ummm okay…?"

Rory figured he couldn't be much help if he didn't know the true purpose for the storage. As was her honest nature, she filled the ball-capped man on the real purpose and the whole idea, and the problems they ran into on their first attempt.

"Hmmm, this seems very …Poe," Luke said as he looked at Rory's notes.

"Good one" she smiled, thinking of the tell tale heart she read last Halloween. "But I promise no animals or people will be harmed in the construction of this project."

_Yeah… just like her mother,_ "I'll be right back," and Luke went up stairs for some tools. When he returned, he showed the girls certain tools they'd need for the job. "In most cases, they'd have used hardwood flooring staples, you want a flat head screw driver, maybe a claw hammer…" and he walked them through the instructions step by step. "If you want… you can borrow my tools," he offered.

"Thanks."

"I'll take those," and Lane hid them in her book bag. "If there is one thing I'm good at its sneaking suspicious items past Momma Kim, undetected."

"Are you sure you're mom won't mind?"

"Oh … what Momma Kim doesn't know," Lane smiled.

Rory became worried, adults were pretty much the same on these things, and if two young girls wanted to pry up floorboards would be generally frowned upon and would be Rory figured that was a given red flag to any adult; even her mother, Lorelai felt uncomfortable keeping it from Momma Kim.

"Your secrets safe with me," Luke assured…and when he saw Rory reaching for her money, "Keep it, first time customers are on the house."

"But I was here before", again honest Rory confessed.

"Yeah but you didn't get anything the last time…" The ball-capped man reminded her.

Lane chimed in, "In that case, can I get some fries to go?"

The ball caped man only smiled and filled the order. Appreciating his advice and kindness, Rory genuinely thanked him… for everything. She wanted to get the nice man's name… but then Lane remembered, "Rory… Sookie…"

In all her excitement with her new plans and new borrowed tools, Rory knew they had better get back to the school quick, and had forgotten to get the ball capped man's name. Maybe when her mom finally took her to the diner, they could be formally introduced. "We'll see you around!"

The two tweens were off with their fries and plans.

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_I love Fridays_… Lorelai thought to her self. Lorelai was gonna have a fish dinner with Luke; he had caught more fish at the lake, _no doubt to continue to impress me, with his manly attribute,_ to which she smiled an internal _dirty. _

Lorelai hadn't eaten such fancy meals since… well her mother's house. After dinner, on the couch, Lorelai was lying next to Luke, just enjoying a quiet moment together as they digested.

"It's late," Luke broke the silence.

"Mmm Hmmmm" Lorelai agreed, wanting to stay with him as long as possible.

"You should go."

"But I'm so comfy…" Lorelai insisted.

"You should get back to Rory…"

"It's not that late… and you know … Rory has a babysitter…?"

"…We're slowing down, remember…"

"But it's not a school night … remember," and she kissed his neck.

"Lorelai you have to tell her soon…" thinking of the previous day's close call in the diner, how Rory was gaining in confidence to come to the diner on her own.

"I will… but she's so into this floorboard project with Lane…" Lorelai sighed.

The Luke asked out of the blue, "Is she aloud to … you know, go places by herself?"

"What do you mean…?"

"Well let's say… what if Rory comes into … the diner… do I introduce myself as Luke… the guy who makes your coffee?"

"Well, I've promised her I would take her to the diner soon… she's noticed all the Luke's take out cups."

"When did you make that promise…?"

"Eh a week or so ago…"

_Looks like she couldn't wait, _Luke realized.

"Luke…"

"Yeah?"

"I want … dessert…" she smiled, since teasing his neck had done nothing for him, she went for the direct approach.

"You can't wait till Rory's sleep over…"

"That's a whole 24 hours away…" nibbling at him again.

_Now how do you argue with that? _

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Lorelai had made the mistake of closing her eyes, and had fallen asleep next to him. She didn't mean for it to happen, she was just so comfortable and warm with him, and she didn't want to leave. Plus it didn't help that he had made another wonderful meal just for her that put her in another happy food coma. Little did she know just how she would pay for her impatience.

She was starting to wake up again, remembering the fact that she should go home, get back to Rory, and then she was abruptly jarred awake by a phone ringing. She felt Luke stir next to her, "I got it," and he kissed her shoulder, not thinking, Luke said sleepily "go back to sleep," forgetting himself that she was supposed to be home already.

Without him to cuddle up against she rolled over on her back, just waiting for the annoying ringing to stop piercing her ears. _Man, it's just a time warp with him. I should go home, _Lorelai watched him as he answered phone.

"Hello."

Part of Lorelai was eager for his return to bed, but she knew she should leave... _He already let me win an argument once tonight._

Still waking up, Luke's friendly midnight greeting quickly turned to concern, "Liz? … What's wrong?" he seemed to listen to the person on the other end intently. "Okay, its okay, just calm down, I'll be right there," and he almost didn't want to ask, "… Where are you?" again Luke absorbed the details… "Jeez… Liz…" he shook his head again, and rubbed the back of his neck, as if a tension knot had already settled there.

Lorelai sat up, now invested in what was going on, Luke was leaving her… for another woman? … In the middle of the night? It didn't seem to matter to Luke where that woman was. "Aww Jeez," Luke exclaimed again, annoyance mixed with his concern. Lorelai watched as he scribbled hastily on a sheet of paper by the phone. "Okay, sit tight, I'll be right there." Luke hung up, and started to get dressed, and came eye to eye with his date still in bed looking at him with a concerned and puzzled expression. "Oh Lorelai, umm" and He looked back at the phone briefly, "I'm sorry I have to go…" _how ironic, I'm leaving you for a change._

"Everything okay?"

"Yes and no, I don't have time to explain, I have a … bit of a situation that I … need to take care of." He had gotten dressed quickly, "Please feel free to stay, or help your self to anything in the fridge… I think there's pie down stairs if you want. Or you know you were gonna go home… so it worked out perfectly… well for one of us any way… I'm sorry, I gotta go." He gave Lorelai a hasty good-bye kiss, grabbed his keys, his wallet, a jacket and Luke was off to the mystery woman.

Lorelai just sat alone in his bed, clutching the sheet around her, not knowing what to make of the last 5 minutes. _It was obviously an emergency of some sort, very important; but he was offering me diner pie? This is serious. _

_Liz. A woman called him, and he drops everything to be with her, to rescue her. Not so much out of the blue. He did rescue me with my flat tire. Maybe he is just that way, secretly he's the super hero going around saving people and no one's the wiser. _

Then it hit Lorelai. _Liz…must be the high school sweetheart._

_Maybe… He's still hung up on her. _

_Okay… now we are jumping to conclusions… Luke isn't that insensitive to just sleep with me then leave for another woman… there has to be another explanation… something… anything._ But Lorelai couldn't think of one.

Just when she thought she could believe he was different and allow herself to fall for him, just when she thought she could trust him … Granted this woman sounded like she was in trouble, but still.

Lorelai gathered up her clothes and got dressed, _fine… he can help out … his old friend… fine… that's great, he's a super hero to all women in need. When he gets back, when he wants to see me… he will, he knows I work at the inn, he can find me… and explain everything… as he promised._

Lorelai proudly walked out the diner door, but she snagged two whole pies before she left.

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The following week dragged on for Lorelai. With Luke out of town, Lorelai's plans for Saturday were ruined. She dropped Rory off, and she was upset she couldn't share in her daughter's enthusiasm for the floorboard project. She spent her evening begrudgingly doing laundry, cleaning out the take out drawer, and finally disposing of last year's magazines.

Again, raining on her mood she had to pull a housekeeping shift Monday morning, so Lorelai took her anger out while she fluffed pillows and remade beds. The longer Luke was away the more questions she had for him.

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Luke thought it was strange that Lorelai, his apparent girlfriend, didn't come in anymore. When he got Liz's Call, as always it was a bad time, but he never expected his "trip" to take 5 days; as usual he couldn't afford Liz just dropping in out of the blue, so he had Ben take on extra help while he was a way. A young cook named Caesar.

Luke had been back in town for 2 days and still no Lorelai. Unfortunately, because of her mysterious insistence, he still didn't know where she lived, and she was always busy at work. He wanted to apologize, and explain. But, she was nowhere to be found in this small town.

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Luke had returned on Wednesday, Lorelai knew because she saw his truck… every time she drove past the diner she had looked for it. When she finally saw it, her heart was briefly happy for his return, but then she remembered she was mad at him. By Friday, Lorelai wondered why he hadn't come to find her, to explain, as he promised. Before picking Rory up from school she stopped at Bootsy's newsstand to pick more magazines to replace the ones she had thrown away, and over heard the biddies talking.

"Yes. Luke's hired a new cook, I think his name is Caesar," Patty shared with Babette.

"Any good?"

"He's got nothing on Luke, in the kitchen or in the looks department…. but my real question is why did Luke leave town? …"

_Why indeed_, Lorelai added internally,

"… And for so long…" Patty added.

"Yeah and if the diner's going belly up… why hire someone new?" Babette concurred.

"I heard Caesar was only temporary…" then Patty Gasped… "Maybe Luke left town to scope out new locations… maybe he's moving…?"

"I don't think so, Patty, his whole life is here… where would he go…?"

"Did we ever find out where that girlfriend of his went?"

"Aw who knows she's a photographer… one week it's Germany, then South America… then Burundi… I couldn't keep up," Babette shook her head.

"Any contact? Post cards maybe?" Patty was grasping at straws.

"Hey that's not bad… maybe if we slip Kirk a twenty… he could give us the scoop on Luke's mail."

"Kirk's not worth twenty… how about ten?" Patty countered.

"Let's go…" and the two gossips were off. "Oh hey sugar…" Babette noticed Lorelai, "you okay, doll? You look pale…"

"No, thanks…I'm fine…just getting Rory from school, "Lorelai said cheerfully and quickly paid for her magazines.

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"Mom?"

"Yes honey?"

"Do we have milk?"

"I think sooo…"

"What about ice cream…?"

"Ummm you have to ask?"

"What about cheese?"

"Okay my little milk maid what's up?"

"Well I just wanna make sure I get enough calcium…"

"Why?"

"I was reading an article today… in the paper… about osteoporosis…" Rory was careful to pronounce it correctly.

"Oh boy…" Lorelai sighed.

"…And I'm a growing girl… I need my calcium, it couldn't hurt you to have more, and you are much older than I am…"

"Thanks and not that much…" Lorelai said dryly.

"Can we pick some up? Please…"

"Alright we'll stop at Doose's…"

Then something caught Rory's attention, "Oh, could you stop at Doose's, I have to drop something off at Lane's?"

"You're gonna see her tomorrow… can't it wait?"

"Her mother is out of the house… and this is for our project… and it's one less thing I have to sneak in…"

"How can you tell her mom's out from here?" Lorelai squinted at the house, it looking just as it did any other day…

Rory pointed to Lane's window, "she has a green scarf in the top pane of her window. Green means all clear."

Lorelai marveled at her little Hogan's heroes, "You guys have a plan for everything…?"

"Pretty much, we are very thorough."

"Envied only by Mrs. Kim I'm sure. Okay I'll get more milk and cheese… but only if I can get ice cream for me…"

Rory teased in a scoff, "You have to ask?"

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Lorelai went into Doose's and the first thing she saw near the produce section in the back was Luke. Taylor seemed to be bugging him about something… no doubt hitting him up for details on the financial future of the diner… and consequently the space that maybe available for lease.

Lorelai hid behind a cereal display and watched Luke shop. His basket seemed to have typical bachelor items, a half gallon jug of orange juice, some tomatoes, razors, toothpaste, and turkey lunchmeat. No feminine items, nothing that screamed "I got back together with my ex-girlfriend"… lady's speed stick, cotton balls … condoms.

Like any male in a store, he was in mission mode, he went through the store quickly, found exactly what he needed and with no chit chat to the cashier, paid and left, and never noticed Lorelai.

Keeping herself in check, she got her daughters milk and cheese, and 5 flavors of Ben and Jerry's.

_From Russia with Buzz, My favorite… _

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On Saturday, Lorelai couldn't stay away any longer, _5 days. 5 days. Luke was off with Liz doing God knows what for 5 whole days, kissing and making up? Making plans for the wedding? Conceiving their first child? Back for three whole days, and hasn't once tried to contact me…_

Lorelai had just dropped Rory off for another sleep over at Lane's, and since she was right in the center of town, it was convenient. Her anger fuming in her for a week, she had to face him one last time, to have the satisfaction of telling him off. _Great guy my ass._ So she marched in the diner as the dinner crowd was dying down, and Luke actually had the nerve to smile at her. _Bastard! _Lorelai kept herself cool and even, "Can we talk?"

"Sure? … ummm upstairs okay?" seeing the anger below the surface, he was naturally confused.

_The scene of the crime will do nicely_, "lead the way."

As she marched up the stairs Lorelai realized this was why she didn't date, it hurt too much. She really did like Luke, loved spending time with him, the way he touched her, the way he made her feel, but it was all over now, he was pining for another woman… and it was all over.

Luke closed the door and had to ask, "Is something wrong?" she hadn't cracked a joke or a smile since entering the diner.

"No everything is fine; everything is just great… because I'm breaking up with you."

"What? Why?"

"Because of the other night…"

"Lorelai, I'm sorry, I had to leave ... it was an emergency," he pleaded.

"Oh I don't doubt it. Little miss thing calls and you go running. Whenever, wherever she is…"

"Hey!"

"No Luke I get it, okay I really do. You're still in love with her. She calls you and needs your help and you are all too willing to drop everything to be with her. Despite the fact that we were on a date, despite the fact we had just made love, despite the fact that I was still in the room, no, in the bed … Naked!"

"Lorelai calm down…" Luke didn't know where this rant was coming from; praying no one down stairs heard her.

"I can't believe I almost told Rory about us! I can't believe I slept with you on the second date! Chris didn't even get that…. "

"Jeez, will you keep your voice down … the diner's open!" Luke couldn't keep up with her flying accusations.

"… Well, I'm not going to play second fiddle to that, okay? So fine go be with her…" and Lorelai was about to leave but Luke grabbed her arm, and stopped her.

Forcing her to look him in the face he asked, "What are you talking about?"

"You and your high school girlfriend riding off into the sunset together …"

"High school?" _Rachel? _

_Boys can be so stupid, _"Liz, your high school sweetheart, calling in the middle of the night, the one you were supposed to marry, go marry her… why are you smiling?" confused by the amused look he wore.

Luke took a deep breath to explain, "Rachel… Rachel is the ex-girlfriend."

_Oh My God, there are two? _Lorelai still didn't get it, "then who is Liz?"

"My sister," Luke clarified as he crossed his arms.

"Sister?" Lorelai had wide understanding eyes, that little fact changed everything. Lorelai was an only child, so it had never occurred to her that Luke would have a sibling. Her avoidance of the subject of family early on in their relationship backfired again, she hadn't mentioned her daughter initially, and Luke never mentioned his sister. Lorelai buried her face in her hands. She had wasted so much energy this week being angry and pushing the situation out of her mind, she never stopped to think; _of course he has a sister._ "Oh Luke," _of course he would drop everything to help out his sister. _"Oh, I'm having a Star Wars moment…. I feel like such … an ass."

"Its okay, I didn't have time to explain, and I had no way to reach you when I got back." _Still without your phone number or address_

"Is she … okay? You were gone for a week."

"Keeping tabs on me, huh?"

"Shut up and tell me she is okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine, she just, … fell for the dead beat of the year … _again_ … he ripped off all her stuff, and I had to find her a new place, where she could start over… _again_, with my nephew."

"Oh my God, is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's been a tough one ever since his dad left."

"Luke I … I just feel awful…. I should have trusted you."

"Why would you trust me when a strange woman calls in the middle of the night?"

"Luke"

"Yeah"

"I … I don't … want to break up…"

"Good, neither do I."

"I am sorry I overreacted," she winced hoping that made everything okay?

"You already said that," Clearly bored with the conversation.

"Okay, I just want to be clear…" Luke fixed her car, he cooked for her, and he kept up with her jokes, most of the time. He was a great guy and she was treating him like dirt, for suspecting him of crimes he didn't commit, for keeping him at arms length. For not being honest with him from the start about Rory, "I do want to … take us seriously."

"But you still haven't told Rory…"

"I will… I promise…"

"Where is she…?"

"At Lane's…. again… this project is taking longer than they thought."

"Lorelai you have to tell her…"

"Okay… I will, but… "

"What?"

"Can I still… spend the night…? I sleep better with you around."

"Believe me… I want to… I've … missed you, but I just don't think…"

"…Why not? Tonight is perfect Rory is busy with her friend… and we can…be busy on our own."

"Lorelai…"

"Luke we just had a fight… we're supposed to make up… officially," she smiled.

"Sometimes I think you only want me for my body…" Luke shook his head.

"That and the coffee."

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Over breakfast, Luke and Lorelai had talked more about his nephew, comparing funny stories they could remember about the young ones in their lives. Lorelai felt like a weight had been lifted, now free to brag and share stories about her bright, beautiful kid. Hearing the more about Rory's personality made Luke nervous too meet her, this was new territory for him, dating a woman with a kid, and Luke felt the need to ask "What about Rory's dad? Where is he?"

"Awww who knows… last I heard he was on his way to California and he didn't even offer to change a diaper first."

"Do you… miss him?"

"What?"

"Well you asked me about Rachel…"

"Yeah, when I thought she was Liz"

"Still I told you…"

"I don't know… it's been so long since we've even been in the same state long enough to have a real conversation… I just … don't know him any more… besides… I have you now."

"And since we now know that not telling people important details doesn't agree with us…."

"I know, I know, I'll sit her down … this weekend I promise"

**7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 **

**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund …**


	13. One Down, One To Go

**A/N: Insert Strong Bad voice:  
Like a Phoenix, from the ashes **

**...she rises again!**

**DIRTY!**

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. WE just use the Gilmore Girls dolls during our slumber parties…. It's fun (shirtless Luke: with coffee pouring action, and the "Fry it and Buy it" Luke's Diner Play Set sold separately!) **

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: What if LL hooked up when they first met? What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**Luvz: miss ya!**

**JEEPY: hey there thanks for the beta...**

**A/N: so what did you do with your extra hour? Oh I don't mean daylight savings time... i mean the hour that GG was a RERUN!**

**not that I'm complaining... it's pushes the EVIL EPPY back a week! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!**

**One more thing... I'm proud of this chapter... tell me what you think...**

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**Chapter 13:  
One Down, One To Go **

When Lorelai picked Rory up from Kim's Antiques, she hurried Rory out the door. "Thanks Mrs. Kim, what I pity… I already ate…" As soon as the Gilmore pair was at the end of the sidewalk, Lorelai asked, "Were those pancakes?"

"From sprouted wheat with tofu chunks," Rory winced.

"But they were like… grey … and runny."

"I think it's a new recipe, she's still working out the kinks."

"Poor Lane … well to make it up to you, I got you a real breakfast. Someone sure must think you're special," Lorelai handed her a take-out bag.

"It's my mommy!" Rory completed the bit. Upon examining the bag, Rory's eyes went wide. It was a Luke's bag. Rory swallowed her guilty conscience; she could honestly enjoy it for the first time, since she hadn't really eaten anything during her secret diner visits. However, Rory decided to play dumb and let her mother think she hadn't been obsessing over the mystery diner, "Luke's? Isn't that your friend who makes the coffee?" finally trying to get information out of her mother.

_Here we go. _Lorelai tried to keep her nerves in check. "Yes, he not only makes coffee he… makes real pancakes and bacon."

"Cool, I'm in." Rory eagerly opened the bag and pulled out a hash brown.

Lorelai could hear Luke nagging her in the back of her mind, and she knew she should do it now while her daughter enjoyed her special Luke's breakfast, _get her to like his food first; the way to her heart is through her stomach… right?_ "Hey hon, sit down for a minute," Lorelai suggested as she looked for a free bench in the square.

"Why?" Rory asked with her mouth full of potato.

"I wanna talk to you."

"Okay, Can I eat while you talk…?" Rory begged, struggling to keep the fried goodness in her mouth.

"Of course…" They sat down and Lorelai took a deep breath. _Just treat her like an adult… _"Well, how would you feel if... I started… dating?"

Rory swallowed the potato goodness hard, "What?"

"You know, like they do in all those movies."

"You mean like go out with a boy? Dinner and a movie?"

"Well, yeah,"_ That's the general idea…_

"You mean like … kissing and stuff too?" Rory looked at Lorelai as if her mother had grown a second head.

"Well … yeah?" _That's sort of part of the deal._

It didn't add up to Rory. "But… what about Dad?" Rory asked; the question was out of the blue for Lorelai, Rory usually only worried about Chris around holidays and birthdays. Like any young girl, she only wanted to spend as much time as she could with her father.

_Oh boy!_ "Umm, what about him?"

"Well, aren't you two… you know…gonna get back together?"

"Rory," _Oh boy!_ Lorelai sighed to herself.

"But you two have never really given it a chance."

"Rory," Lorelai sighed again, "Don't you think if your father wanted to be with me …to be with us, he'd be here? Or in the same time zone at least?"

"But he has to work!"

"Not on the other side of the country he doesn't!" Like any kid with estranged parents, Lorelai had sensed these feelings in her daughter before, whenever they would visit Chris. A parent trap vibe surrounded the visits, fortunately there was only one Rory, and as clever as she was, she wanted it to be her parents' idea to get back together. Lorelai kindly said, "I'm not looking for a replacement for your dad, okay? Chris will always be your dad. He is free to call and visit as much as he wants,"_ not that he ever has, _"you know that. He knows that. I'm just looking for someone for me, okay? After all, someday, when you're off dazzling them at Harvard, I'll need someone to keep me company, right?"

"What about Sookie? She can keep you company."

"Rory, I can't do what they do in the movies with Sookie."_ I don't swing that way._ Rory made a horrible face as the idea of her mother dating sunk in further, and Lorelai knew her daughter hated the idea of Lorelai dating anyone that wasn't Chris. "Honey, I'm just asking you to think about it, okay? Just… please, for mommy's sake… think about it."

It suddenly all made sense, the change in coffee provider, the going to the diner every day, "Has he asked you out? This Luke guy?" Rory asked harshly.

_She's too smart. _Rory Holmes had figured it out again. All of a sudden, he went from being mommy's friend Luke who made great coffee, to the Luke guy who was a threat to her parents ever getting back together. "Well, yes. And since we are being … honest, he … and I have already had a few dates."

It was then that Rory jumped up from her seat "What? When?"

"Some of the nights I told you I had to work… I went to have dinner… with Luke."

It was the first time her mother had lied to Rory; _that I know of, _"And you didn't tell me?"

"I know… I know it was wrong not to tell you before, but I'm telling you now. I didn't say anything because I didn't even know if I would like him. I didn't know how you would react, or how he'd react when he … found out about you," Lorelai hoped that didn't sound as insensitive out loud as it did in her head.

"Does he … know about me?" Rory was concerned and curious as to why her presence would suddenly be an issue.

Lorelai smiled and took that, mistakenly, as an encouraging sign. "Yes, he does. And he wants to meet you."

Rory's face furrowed up again. "Well I don't want to meet him!" she shouted.

"Rory..."

"What about Dad?" Rory cried again.

"I told you, your father will always be special to me, but he's not willing or ready to take us on full time yet."

"Yet, yet, you said yet," the tween latched on to any small ounce of hope.

It was strange to see Rory have a tantrum; even as a young child, she'd always been such an angel. "Rory, please…"

"No!" With that, Rory ran off, throwing the bribe of a Luke's bag, to the ground, and chucking the hash brown as far away as she could. She was no doubt running to the lake, or back to Lane's, just somewhere she could be alone and think.

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It wasn't going to happen, she couldn't let it happen. Rory was going to call in the big guns. She ran home, the air burning in her lungs, her short legs taking her as fast as they could, and she hurried up the porch stairs, through the front door, and into her room. Rory hastily pulled off the useless school reminders from her bulletin board to find the faded number that was buried beneath. She dialed the long-distance number… without asking permission first.

Before Rory could even beg for her dad to pick up, or get impatient over the ringing, a monotone voice took over: "We're sorry, the number you have dialed has been disconnected. Please hang up and try again…"

Frustrated, Rory fell on her bed, burying herself in her blankets, and curled up in a fetal position. Rory didn't even know where Chris was now. He hadn't left word that he had moved… again. All she had now was another obsolete phone number, tears on her pillow, and a wish in her heart.

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"Lorelai?" Luke was surprised to see her back at the diner so soon.

"She didn't take it so well," Lorelai confessed as she put her purse on the counter, and took a seat on the far end, away from stray gossips.

_That was quick… _"Okay? So … where is she?"

Lorelai slumped on her stool, "I don't know; the book store, the library, back at home."

"Shouldn't we go look for her?"

Luke's concern touched Lorelai, "Wait until closer to lunch time… she's bound to get hungry sooner or later." _Ha! Maybe I'll bring her too Luke's for dinner_, Lorelai mocked herself.

"How can you be so calm?"

"I know Rory, she'll be a little upset at first but she'll pro/con it out and all will be well again."

Luke was worried he would never get the seal of approval from Rory, that she would never accept him. He saw the same concern on his girlfriend's face, "Lorelai?"

Lorelai replayed the scene in her head again. "She was actually upset, she was yelling at me like a two year-old. She's never yelled at me before, not even as a two year-old." Lorelai felt obligated to tell Luke exactly what he was up against. "She said … she wants me and her dad back together."

"Oh," and Luke hated to ask, "Do you want that?" he focused on the saltshaker as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world, anything form looking Lorelai in the face.

"Are you kidding?" Lorelai scoffed. "He's been out of the picture for so long, we don't even know each other anymore … when ever he wants a visit…we have to go to him … I can't even remember the last time he called, or sent Rory a gift for Christmas or a birthday." And just as suddenly changing the subject, "Hey, your birthdays are around the same time… There's some common ground, anyway."

"I guess it will just take some time…" and he shifted uncomfortably behind the counter.

"Hey, don't worry; wait until she tries one of your burgers. She'll love you."

Luke smiled at that, and then outside something got his attention. Lorelai turned to see. _Oh, no!_

Babette and Patty were standing outside the diner, pointing and whispering, obviously discussing Luke and Lorelai.

"Well that's that," Lorelai sighed, wondering if they had seen Rory's outburst, or if her questioning about Luke's absence had been enough to tip them off.

"What?"

_He really is clueless. _"They know…"

"They know?"

"They know…" and Lorelai gestured between the two of them.

"How could they know…?"

"Rory's little outburst outside? My little outburst while you were gone? Or, oh yeah, they could have just seen us together… you have to admit we give off a vibe."

"We do not give off a vibe…" Luke dismissed, because he hated that word.

"Yes we do…" _a vibe of people having great sex._

Then her comment just registered in Luke's head. "You had an outburst, while I was gone?"

"Maybe … a wee one."

It was then that Taylor came bursting into the diner. "Excuse me Lorelai…"

"Please… not now Taylor…"

"Well, I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but your daughter blatantly littered in the square…"

_I was there Taylor… you saw me! _

Taylor continued, "_…_ I mean we just finished cleaning from the flower show…."

"Send me a bill, Taylor…"

However, Taylor persisted. "You have to nip this behavior in the bud, Lorelai. You don't want Rory to start down a delinquent path?"

Lorelai shot Taylor a look; he was seriously giving her parental advice, unable to believe his nerve, for a man who had no children of his own. "You seriously think that because she threw a hash brown she's gonna what… grow up and steal a car?" she asked incredulously.

"…And she dropped a paper bag," Taylor pointed out. "Lorelai, this is the first sign, disregard for rules, standards sliding…well you might as well kiss Harvard goodbye," he practically pleaded.

Luke could tell Lorelai was in no mood for this; she only wanted to think of Rory, "How much Taylor?"

"What?"

"The fines… how much…?" Luke asked again.

"Well, the standard littering fine is 25 dollars…"

Luke pulled out his wallet. "Great, here's 50 for both offenses… now get out Taylor."

Taylor took the money, and walked off almost as if his suspicions had been confirmed. He was now outside and conversing with Patty and Babette.

Luke agreed, "Oh yeah… they know…"

"You didn't have to do that," Lorelai smiled.

"I wanted to… anything to get Taylor out of my diner…"

"I'll pay you back…"

"You don't have to," he assured.

"Well I want to…"

"How about you buy the next time we go out to dinner?" Luke countered, then both became silent, not sure if there will be a date anytime soon with Rory's reaction. To break the uncomfortable silence, Luke asked, "She didn't go for the breakfast, huh?"

"Once she found out who it was from… no…"

"Sorry."

"No, you meant well."

"You want coffee?"

"You have to ask?" As she watched him, Lorelai sighed. "That's what started it all, isn't it…?"

"What?"

"Your coffee." And they shared a small smile. "Make it to go, I'll wait for her at home."

"You want me to come too? Maybe if she met me…"

"Not yet… but soon. It's gonna have to be soon."

"Alright."

Lorelai hesitated getting up from her seat. "Luke?"

"Yeah"

"Are Patty and Babette still behind me?"

"Yeah."

"I thought so…" and Lorelai got up, rounded the counter, and kissed Luke square on the mouth for the entire diner and anyone pressed up against the window to see.

"Lorelai!" Luke exclaimed when he pulled away. "What are you doing?"

"Giving them something to talk about… I'll call you later," and she didn't even look at the gossips' gaping mouths as she left.

**7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 **

**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund …**


	14. After Boom

**A/N: Insert Strong Bad voice:  
Like a Phoenix, from the ashes **

**...she rises again!  
(Hey Tom is this distracting yet?)**

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. WE just use the Gilmore Girls dolls during our slumber parties…. It's fun (shirtless Luke: with coffee pouring action, and the "Fry it and Buy it" Luke's Diner Play Set sold separately!) **

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: What if LL hooked up when they first met? What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**Luvz: you will receive a gift from an annoying friend today… REVIEW HER FICS and she'll stop nagging.**

**A/N: other stories… I am in the process of working through my rough patch…(EWWW JASON get away from ME!) and WOW Dirty…(sorry LMAO, too funny had to pub the blunder) ummm any way… I am attempting to over come my writers block with my other fics… there are just too many directions to go…(and too many come backs) I cannot pick! Also which are TRUE to CHARACTER, PLUS my mind won't turn off and I just heat April chanting "Luke's my father, Luke's my father, Luke's my father, Luke's my father" to the toon of the STAR WARS GANSTSA RAP, which is actually a really GOOD song… for us star wars freaks… and out flash light thingies…(come on… Luke you were a trekkie… you know their proper name…) **

**777777777777777777777777777  
Chapter 14:  
After Boom **

Lorelai came home and found her baby girl in her room, buried in blankets, asleep, _tuckered out after her previous display, no doubt. _Even asleep, Rory looked as though she was still pouting. Lorelai curled up beside her daughter, and waited for her to wake up.

After about an hour and a few twitches from the 11 year old later, Rory woke up to find she wasn't alone anymore, noticing her mother's arm was around her.

Lorelai propped her head upon her hand, "Hey there," she whispered to her daughter.

"Hi," Rory said coldly, refusing to turn over and look at her mother.

"I think we have some things to talk about…"

"No kidding," Rory folded her arms, forcing her mouth into a frown, and still refused to look at Lorelai.

Lorelai decided it was time to pull the Mom card. "Hey, I'm trying to be civil so please let's drop the attitude… and just… talk…" Lorelai tried to gently reason, "Now, I know we're a team, kid… it's been you and me against the world most of the time. It's been that way forever… but you are growing up… and things change…your dad and me … well we just don't fit together anymore…"

Rory took a deep breath in and let it out in a huff, refusing to cry again.

"I know you don't like hearing it… but it's true" Lorelai wanted to explain things realistically to Rory, without ending in a Bash Chris Fest. Lorelai had to pick her words carefully. "Your dad will always be apart of our lives… but after 10 years… I just… well, I need more than he is willing to give me… and I know that you like the 'no boys allowed, girls rule' clubhouse we've established, with Lane and Sookie and Mia … but Luke is a really nice, really great guy, and well … he is … very … special," and she tried to soothe her daughter's concerns by smoothing her hair. "I'm sorry if you don't like the situation, but we're going to have to work this out … together... like always…"

Rory wondered how long she could keep up the silent treatment to stonewall her mother's conversation.

"Come on, talk to me…" Lorelai urged.

Rory decided she needed some answers, so she calmly asked, "How long?"

"What?"

"How long have you been seeing _him_… behind my back," Rory emphasized.

"Only like …a few weeks… if that…"_if you don't count the time he was out of town, maybe five dates…_

This surprised Rory. "But… you've been going there for months!"

"Well, before I was just there for the coffee, and I sorta… noticed Luke", Lorelai wanted this to be a moment, where they could bond, and talk about boys, and hopefully all would be well again, "… it was just like in the movies, we started talking… and we became friendly. He helped me when I had car trouble… and he was always nice to me when I came in the diner. Then one day, out of the blue he just asked me out to dinner … and I hadn't been on a date since… well since before you were born…"

Rory's only exposure to dating was what she had seen in the movies, "where did he take you?" she asked out of pure curiosity. If it was more of a Point Of No Return, you have 60 seconds to kill the guy at the table behind you … Or if it was more of a romantic Fred and Ginger type affair.

"To a restaurant, owned by some friends of his…" _see this is the kinda stuff I could never talk about with my mother… it wouldn't be proper… but I want my daughter best friend combo._

"… He owns a restaurant… why didn't he just take you to the diner?"

"Well… he wanted it to be… special… and he didn't want his customers disturbing us…"

_Romantic… just what I was afraid of… _"Did he … take you to a movie?" knowing that was part of the required date formula, and Rory began to wonder what people did on dates before movies were invented.

"Yes, he arranged for the theater play Labyrinth for me … because he knew I liked that movie."

_Huh, really romantic…_"How did he know…?"

"Well I told him… in all that friendly talking we did… I had quoted the movie one time and he didn't know the quote because he had never seen it…"

This fact appalled Rory, "he's never seen Labyrinth?" _how can she date a man whose never seen Labyrinth?_

"Well he's seen it now… of course."

"Did he… you know… kiss you good night?"

"Yes," Lorelai admitted shyly.

"Did you want him too?"

"Yes…" her daughter was so still, and unfortunately Lorelai wasn't a telepath, "Rory …I didn't expect to like him as much as I do… but there it is. I like a boy, and I would like to keep seeing him…"

Rory began to wonder who Luke was, had Luke been there right in the open during her secret visits? Rory tried to picture the three guys she had seen in the diner on her secret visits, then tried to imagine them sitting in a theater audience-watching Labyrinth with her mother. Or was the name Luke just a front… was her mother dating a diner chain titan? Like Denny's, But her mom seemed to be referring to him as a real live singular person.

"Rory?"

"Yes?"

"What can I do?"

_You could not date him and get back together with Dad. _However, Rory already knew her mother's feelings on that subject and knew it was pointless to voice the request. The young girl rolled over onto her back, but only examined her fingernails instead of looking her mother in the eye. "I don't know… I've never been in this position before…"

_There's my freakishly mature girl…_"Me neither," Lorelai grinned. At least the answer wasn't another tantrum, so she decided to take what she could get. "Well, okay. Luke wants to meet you… he's offered to make us dinner… here… at the house if that makes you more comfortable."

Rory took the time to think about it, "Maybe…" then curiosity got the better of her again… "So what did you do on your second date?"

Lorelai shared the PG version of the great second date with her daughter;_ maybe when she's 21… we'll get into the other stuff…_

**7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 **

**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund …**


	15. Friday Night Dinner

**Insert Strong Bad voice:  
Like a Phoenix, from the ashes **

**...she rises again!  
(Hey Tom is this distracting yet?)**

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. WE just use the Gilmore Girls dolls during our slumber parties…. It's fun (shirtless Luke: with coffee pouring action, and the "Fry it and Buy it" Luke's Diner Play Set sold separately!) **

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: What if LL hooked up when they first met? What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**Luvz: you will receive a gift from an annoying friend today… REVIEW HER FICS and she'll stop nagging.**

**7777777777777777**

**Chapter 15:**

**Friday Night Dinner**

On Sunday, Lorelai spent the day with Rory, both girls avoiding the obvious subject of Luke, even when they walked past by his diner. Lorelai noticed that Rory seemed to resist asking her mother to point Luke out. Both girls avoided the taboo topic of what night would serve as the introduction dinner.

"So, how's the floorboard project?" Lorelai asked.

"Slow going; the choir's music isn't really that loud."

"Soo… I noticed you pulled down your school reminders…"

Rory remembered her spur-of-the-moment paper hunt. "Oh, yeah…"

"You know, Taylor already condemned you for littering in the park, I'm sure he'd jump at the chance to get you for doing it in your own room," _Psycho cardigan-wearing Gestapo_

"When did I…?" and she recalled chucking the hash brown and bag… "Oh no!"

"It's okay…" Lorelai knew her daughter would beat herself up over the neglect for Mother Nature during her emotional outburst; even though she couldn't vote yet, Rory prided herself on being a model citizen at such a young age.

Rory frantically rambled, "But there must have been a fine! Was there a fine…? I'll pay the fine… I'll get a job and pay the fine…"

Lorelai tried to picture what sweatshop would hire her little girl, and drew a blank…and Rory couldn't be a papergirl… she couldn't exactly throw, "It's already been taken care of…"

Rory apologized for her hotheaded display again… and for littering "I'm sorry…"

"It's okay. So, were you looking for something? ... With your papers?" Lorelai inquired, wanting to get back to the barren bulletin board.

"Dad's number," Rory confessed.

"Oh, going straight to the source."

"I was upset and I thought for a second that I was Haley Mills … and the call didn't go through… that number was disconnected."

"Again?" Lorelai couldn't believe how much Chris moved around.

"Yeah," Rory said quietly, concerned about her father's whereabouts

Lorelai's own concern began to grow. Sure, she didn't want to be with Chris… but she didn't want any harm to befall him either. Was he the dad of the year? Hell no, but he was the only father Rory was going to have.

"So… what can Luke cook?"

"Anything you like! Do you want something special? I'm sure he'd be happy to make whatever you like…"

"I don't care… when do you want him to come over?" Rory looked up at her mother.

"Well, we can't exactly have company on a school night, and we'd have to spruce the house a bit. Is Friday okay?"

"Sure," Rory agreed, though she was still determined to hate him as much as the impending housework.

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For the following week, the entire town couldn't stop talking about Luke and Lorelai's kiss in the diner and Rory's freak-out in the park. The gossips were busy comparing notes and exchanging versions of the story, happy to correct each other if necessary.

"He wasn't wearing the red flannel; it was the blue and green…"

"I hear they are secretly engaged."

"She hopped up on the counter, I thought they were gonna make love right there!"

It was all Sookie would talk about on Lorelai's breaks. "I'm just so damn happy!" she exclaimed, pouring a mug of coffee for her friend.

"Is it really all over town?" Lorelai asked, accepting the mug.

"It's all anyone can talk about…"

"Man, that Patty is something else…" Lorelai sighed as she took a sip, exhausted from the persistent questioning about her "dreamy" boyfriend.

Even Rory began comparing notes on her own little project. Like any good reporter, she started an interviewing process after school. In protest, Rory avoided the diner to work on her interviews; Taylor was on Monday, Andrew and Gypsy were on Tuesday, Mia was questioned on Thursday, and, if at all possible, she wanted to avoid having to talk to Bootsy and Kirk. They were just weird.

However, the day was Wednesday. Miss Patty was startled before one of her classes when Rory had snuck up behind her. "Oh Rory, have consideration for a woman's heart… what can I help you with today, sweetheart? Were you interested in coming back to dance class?"

"No, thank you. I was wondering if I could ask you something."

"Certainly, precious, what is it?" Patty smiled.

"What can you tell me about one Luke Danes?" Rory asked with her pen and notebook at the ready.

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The anticipated Friday night dinner had arrived, and at 7:00 pm, Luke knocked on the Gilmore girls' front door.

"Be nice," Lorelai, warned her daughter, who usually didn't need reminding, though all day Lorelai sensed the dread and frustration in her daughter. Lorelai went to answer the door and Rory crossed her arms, her eyes focused on her shoes as she listened to the adult greetings.

"Hey," Lorelai stepped aside to let Luke in with his bags of supplies for their special meal.

"Hey" Luke breathed a sigh of relief. "Babette was about three steps behind me, ready to grill me for details."

"Aw, sorry about that…"

Rory had decided to tune out the adult chitchat, and now she feared how long her mother would subject her to this loathsome man's company. She read a lot… and learned new words all the time.

"…Well, um, did you find the house okay?" Lorelai tried to remember if there had ever been a man in the house besides the cable guy.

"Yeah … its Stars Hollow, you make four lefts and you're back at the center of town."

Then Lorelai turned her attention to her daughter and introductions. "Rory… this is Luke…"

"Hello Rory…" the deep voice said.

Finally, her mother and Luke addressed her and Rory reluctantly raised her head. However, her scowling face relaxed and her eyes went wide as she met the gaze of the man before her. "You're… Luke?" It was the nice ball-capped man from the diner… sans ball cap. He was Luke? He certainly didn't look like a business owner, every time she had seen him he was in jeans and a plaid shirt; tonight was no exception. Rory knew what a businessman should look like: like her Grandpa Gilmore, with a suit, bow tie and briefcase. She had a clear picture from those brief holiday visits over the years. When your mind is stone bored, you latch on to the strangest details.

"Yeah" he smiled, "it's nice to see you again."

Rory didn't know what to do. She like the ball-capped man from the diner, he gave her chocolate milk on the house, gave Lane advice and tools for the floorboard project… he was nice… but were those gestures just to get on her good side…?

"Do you know each other?" Lorelai asked, looking from one to the other, wondering how that could be, she knew Luke saw them together in the square._ But how could they have met?_

Rory froze. She was worried she'd get in trouble for going to the diner without her mom's permission, and from her mother's reaction, apparently he hadn't told her about the secret visits to the diner. Then again… Luke didn't know they were supposed to be secret.

"Oh, I've seen her around town… and at a town meeting if I'm not mistaken…" Luke covered with ease.

_Maybe… he's not so bad after all. _Thankful for the save, but still suspicious of his intentions, Rory mumbled a sheepish "it's nice to meet you."

An awkward silence enveloped the trio.

"Well okay then… um, everyone knows who everyone … is…" Lorelai tried to get the night moving along, "So, what are we having?" she asked Luke.

"I've got it all with me, I started earlier… and I heard you liked pot roast," he addressed Rory again, "and I made some dessert."

"That sounds great," Lorelai smiled. "Um, Rory why don't you help me set the table?"

777777777777777777777777777

Lorelai and Rory had a strict policy no matter what, no secrets. They were best friends first, and mother & daughter second. However, through dinner, Rory began to wonder if her mom and Luke had set up that whole, "I'm Luke, I'm a good guy, I'll help you lie to your mother," bit on purpose to gain her trust, or if it was genuine.

Preoccupied with her thoughts, Rory pushed her food around her plate with her fork; it was delicious, but she was too distracted to eat her normal amount at her normal rate, or to even contribute to the adult-dominated conversation, despite their best efforts to include her.

Rory hated to admit it, but everything was nice, even having dinner at the table instead of in front of the TV; Luke's cooking, his efforts to get her to talk to him, the way her mother smiled at Luke, and the food was phenomenal, what she ate of it.

_This isn't the way it's supposed to be. He's supposed to … I don't know, be bad… and Dad is supposed to come in and save the day…_not that he ever had before.

Luke even helped clean up the dishes,_ a man willing to do his own dishes, how could he be the bad guy,_ and he reminded Lorelai of the dessert in the fridge as he got his jacket.

In the foyer, Luke growled, "Well that went well."

"Are you sure you won't stay? Just a little longer… "

"Nah, I feel I've overstayed my welcome…."

"Just give it time." Repeating his words, she kissed him goodnight.

"See you tomorrow?" he asked hopefully.

"You bet."

Upon entering the icy kitchen, Lorelai wondered if she'd need a sweater for this conversation.

"Luke made us tiramisu for dessert," Lorelai offered, _he is really good at dessert,_ but Rory seemed to be pouting at the table again. Lorelai tried to get her daughter to smile again, by making the forks do a little Rockette's dance on the table. "T for tiramisu, and tiramisu for me?"

No reaction.

Lorelai held the two forks up helplessly at her sides, "… Tiramisu, two forks, nothing bonds two girls better than coffee-soaked cake."

But Rory's silent treatment continued.

_That's it! _"Okay, I'll start," and Lorelai sat down at the table with her daughter. "I think dinner was amazing, and I think you were incredibly rude to my guest. You said two sentences to him the whole night. Not even polite 'thank you's' when he passed you the side dishes… which you are constantly reminding me is only polite etiquette." Then Lorelai started kindly begging again, "I'm not asking for you to like him overnight. Just be civil to him. He's trying, really trying and you won't give him a chance. You just hate him because …"

"I don't hate him!" Rory finally said.

"What?"

"I don't … hate… Luke."

"Okay? You could have fooled me!"

"I'm just mad because … I can't hate him…"

"Can't?"

Rory voiced her frustration of the last week "…because everything you say and everything the town says is true. Luke is great, he's super, let's put him on a poster and make him the town mascot."

"Well I don't think he'd like that… Wait, the town?"

"I did a little research," Rory shrugged.

"Really?" _Why am I not surprised? _Lorelai might get more info about Luke from her daughter than from the source himself. "Like what?"

"Well he was born here, son of William and Katherine, brother of Elizabeth, his high school nickname was Butch, he was the captain of the Stars Hollow track team and lead them to victory in the state finals, didn't go to college because his dad's hardware store was failing and he needed to run the store when his dad became ill and then … passed on," Rory worded delicately. "Luke renovated the store to be a diner, but kept the decor exactly the same, right down to the William's hardware sign above the windows…"

"Okay, okay…" Lorelai interrupted, but finding her daughter's thoroughness sweet. "Does this mean you're … gonna be … more open to the … me …dating Luke …thing?"

"I guess, it's just…" and Rory was frustrated she couldn't put what she was feeling inside into words, but finally got out, "I'm just … mad at Dad."

"I know, Hon, I know. But I like Luke, and he likes me. And I like you and Luke likes you. So if you could find some way to like the both of us …together…"

"I'll try… I can tell… you really like him…"

"You can?"

"The way you look at him… it's just like in the movies."

"Well, I do… like him…"

Rory had to admit, "That was really good pot roast."

"Hey, we have leftovers…" Lorelai offered noticing Rory hadn't eaten much during dinner.

"I want tiramisu now!" Anything to get the coffee her mother loved so much.

_That's my girl!_

_777777777777777777777777777777insert suspenseful break here! 777777777777777777777777777777_

_777777777777777777777777777777 Get up… walk around… 777777777777777777777777777777_

_777777777777777777777777777777 do a dance, make a sandwich… 777777777777777777777777777777_

_777777777777777777777777777777yes, I am the Quote Queen! 777777777777777777777777777777_

The next day, Lorelai took Rory to Luke's for breakfast. He was a little surprised to see them so soon.

Lorelai was pestering Rory to go up to Luke and apologize for her behavior the night before, to which Rory timidly replied, "I'm picking my moment." She wanted the apology to be on her terms. Ever considerate, she finally found a chance when Luke wasn't very busy. "Luke?"

"Yes Rory," he answered cautiously, not knowing if she was finally ready to throw a fit, in front of all these people.

"Well, I just wanted to say… I'm sorry, about last night."

Relieved, Luke dismissed, "It's okay."

"No it's not. You're a really nice guy, you made an amazing meal, and you were our guest…. and well, you didn't do any thing wrong. … I'm not mad at you, but I was taking some anger out on you and well… I'm sorry," she smiled hopefully.

Luke smiled, "Apology accepted … Hey, since now we are, um, on speaking terms, do you want some chocolate chip pancakes?"

"Trying to bribe me again?"

"I'd say smooth things over, actually."

"Okay, but only if you make some for Mom too."

"You got it."

Rory beamed, feeling much better. "This is the beginning of beautiful friendship," she declared, but paused before she hopped off her stool, "Hey, Luke?"

"Yeah"

"Thanks for not telling Mom, about me coming here before," Rory whispered.

"Anytime," he whispered back, still smiling.

With a clear conscience, Rory felt she could truly enjoy her first official Luke's breakfast … with her mom. "Luke? Since we are becoming friends, can I have a coffee now?" Rory flashed her best smile and the puppy dog eyes.

"No, it'll stunt your growth…" Luke warned again.

"Aw, man…" Rory grumbled as she went to wait for breakfast at her mother's table, but still pleased with how well she handled herself.

**7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 **

**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund …**


	16. Something To Talk About

**Insert Strong Bad voice:  
Like a Phoenix, from the ashes **

**...she rises again!  
(Hey Tom is this distracting yet?)**

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. WE just use the Gilmore Girls dolls during our slumber parties…. It's fun (shirtless Luke: with coffee pouring action, and the "Fry it and Buy it" Luke's Diner Play Set sold separately!) **

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: What if LL hooked up when they first met? What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**JEEPY: thanks for the beta!**

**A/N: Nov 15th… now I have my own DARK DAY! (Nov 15th 2005 a day that will live in infamy… for GG/JJ/LL fans any way…) who wants to help me Devil egg ASP's car? ...**

**7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777**

**Chapter 16:  
Something To Talk About**

For the next few weeks, with everyone on good terms with everyone else, the girls would go to the diner…together… in the morning before work/school, and occasionally at night for dinner. Needless to say, it wasn't long before the Gilmore girls had sampled everything on Luke's menu, and even a few things he made special just for them. With the budding relationships, sometimes Luke would come over on weekends and offer to do little chores around the Gilmore house.

On one particular Saturday, while Luke was checking on Lorelai's Jeep… again, he began to feel a little self conscious and unnerved, and he finally noticed the small shadow watching him from the porch as he worked, "Oh, Hey Rory," he shyly smiled over his shoulder, trying not to be too uncomfortable with the young girl sizing him up.

Rory was embarrassed to have been caught spying, and only returned a shy, "Hey Luke," and she casually made her way down the porch steps, now that her presence was known.

It had been about a month since the Friday night dinner introduction, and Luke and Rory really hadn't talked much without Lorelai being around. Usually Lorelai was their go-between and Rory was always seemed a little uncomfortable whenever Luke came over to invade the space that was usually girls-only with his manly helpful chores.

Granted, Luke wasn't exactly comfortable around kids him self, he wasn't going to be on the cast of Sesame Street anytime soon, but he didn't want Rory to be afraid of him. She was his girlfriend's daughter, and he knew they were a package deal, so he always tried to be friendly and open to talk to, despite his discomfort, but it would seem a 30 year-old man and an 11 year-old girl had no common ground.

Lorelai assured her boyfriend that Rory would warm up to him, that Rory was always shy around new people. Luke was a little relieved that Rory wasn't an Exact Clone of her mother; that would have been creepy. He could understand how, when your mother was as excitable and as flamboyant as Lorelai, you would be content just to fade into the background with a book, and not even try to compete with your mother's need for attention.

Luke knew Lorelai was just inside, but he hoped this covert attempt by Rory was because she wanted to make an effort on her own, to really want to get to know Luke, truly accept him, and be comfortable around him, if for no other reason … for her mother's sake. "Anything I can help you with?" Luke asked over his shoulder, trying to meet her halfway in the attempt.

"Um, no," she replied shyly, not sure what else to say to her mom's boyfriend. She gave them credit; they were easing her into it. They would see him in the diner, and Luke would only come over to the house on Saturdays, making his exit promptly before dinner to leave the girls to their movie night tradition.

When Lorelai came outside, she was a little disappointed that she hadn't interrupted anything. _Come on, you two have to talk some time_. Lorelai had never been in this position before, how do you open the lines of communication between your boyfriend and your kid? "Hey you two! Anything going on…?"

"Luke's fixing your car," Rory shrugged, almost clinging to the porch post.

"Oh, well thank you," Lorelai went down the steps, beside Luke, not sure if she should show any affection toward him in front of Rory. Lorelai was almost afraid to touch Luke as she stood beside him… peaking at his work over his shoulder.

"Your welcome … Hey, I could make us some lunch," Luke offered.

"With what? We have nothing," Lorelai joked.

"Well, knowing the average state of your kitchen, I brought some stuff over."

"Great, Rory… how's that sound?"

"Fine," Rory said shortly, and sat down on a step.

Luke wasn't sure what was wrong, but he could tell Rory was obviously preoccupied and down about something. Maybe it was how her dad had gone missing again, maybe it was the not knowing how to talk to him as her mother's boyfriend, maybe it was the Luke/Lorelai relationship in general, but maybe it had nothing to due with their current situation at all.

"Okay, well I'll just, um, wash up and get started… " Before he stepped inside, he gestured to Lorelai to talk to Rory, because he honestly wanted to know what was wrong, if there was anything he did wrong that he could correct. He didn't know what else to do but give the girls the privacy to talk.

Lorelai sat down next to her daughter on the steps, "Hey kid… you okay?"

"Yeah…" Rory answered dully.

"Alright… is there a problem?"

"Not really…"

"Is there sorta a problem?"

"No"

"Rory, something's up," Lorelai only wanted to make her daughter feel at ease around the new man in their lives, "… is it Luke?"

"No, he's fine…"

"You sure?" She asked, knowing Rory wasn't one to complain.

"Yes…" Rory was frustrated and she couldn't think with her mother's questioning. "It's just … a school project. It's not due for weeks, and I need to figure a few things out…" When it came to school, Rory wanted to make her best efforts first, how would she learn other wise? If she was still stuck, she would then do a mountain of research, and then, if absolutely necessary, she would ask for help.

"Okay. Well, I'll help if you need it…"

"No, it's okay. I have a plan. I just need… to find a time… or a way to … execute it," she finished with a heavy sigh. "Well, I'm gonna go inside and read 'til lunch is ready."

Both girls went in the house and Rory retreated to her room and Lorelai went to join Luke in the kitchen.

"What's going on?" Luke asked in a whisper.

"It's just school stuff," Lorelai replied, touched by Luke's concern but still doubting if school was really her daughter's main concern, "She's got it covered."

"Oh, okay," he said, obviously relieved and he focused back on prepping lunch. 'He knew Rory was a bright kid, and that he could be of absolutely no help to her with a school project. Fixing a porch rail, sure, installing bookshelves, he was your man, which reminded him to measure her bedroom walls before he left for the evening. Luke hadn't gone to college, how was he going to help a girl aspiring for the Ivy League?

Rory peeked out of her door and saw how her mom rubbed Luke's back as he assembled sandwiches. It was kind of sweet, her mom being cute with a guy, even if Rory had always imagined that guy to be Christopher. Still, even before Rory knew the reason, she had seen that her mom was much happier since she began to bring home Luke's take-out cups. Now before her eyes, Lorelai seemed to beam, she wore a wide smile, unable to stop teasing and talking to the cause of that smile, an understanding man who was fixing lunch for the girls.

Lorelai went upstairs to find a CD she had borrowed from Lane, Lorelai was constantly trying to expose the hermit diner man to the music and movies he didn't feel was necessary to pay attention to. With Luke alone in the kitchen, Rory tried her hand at a conversation with Luke again …in order to execute… phase one, "Um, Luke?"

It was the one of the few times Rory had addressed him specifically. "Yes Rory?"

So, she decided to just go for it. "Well, I have this project… at school…" and Rory hoped he would be the one to help her out.

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When Lorelai came downstairs she was surprised, to find Luke and Rory in the kitchen together, with Rory perched on a small step stool she could see into her pan easier. "What are you two up to?"

"Mom, Luke is teaching me how to cook!" Rory smiled excitedly, knowing she had chosen the right man for the job.

It was the first time Rory wore a real smile around the diner man, but the activity completely threw Lorelai. "He's what?"

Luke tried to ease his girlfriend's concern for her daughter's proximity to fire. "We're starting off slow with grilled cheese for lunch," Luke assured Lorelai, and got the can opener out of the drawer for the soup, which, according to Rory, he was in charge of.

_To think, a child of mine …cooking_ "Rory… what brought this on?"

Keeping an eye on the bread in the pan, just waiting for the edges to turn the perfect golden brown as Luke had instructed, Rory guiltily confessed as she shifted the sandwiches in the pan with the spatula. "Well, my Home Ec teacher, Mrs. Kelly, she pulled me aside after class and told me that I needed to practice more. I mean, it's school, but it's not like book study work that I'm used to… well there are cook books of course… but, I'm kinda… stinking at the whole cooking thing, maybe because it's a family trait, and in a few weeks we have to make a layer cake and decorate it… as part of our final grade, and I didn't have much luck with the soup we tried to make during my midterms…"

Luke now understood why he was in charge of the soup.

Rory continued her story, "… And I figured I really like cake… I want to be able to actually eat the cake… so… I asked Luke to teach me a few things… because well Sookie is always so busy at the Inn with Rafael making her work morning, noon and night… and well... Luke was here…"

It was the most Rory had spoken around Luke … ever.

"Oh, okay?" Leave it to Rory to not want anything to ruin her GPA, "So… how's she doing?" Lorelai asked Luke.

"Well, despite needing a bit of a boost to be a safe distance from the burners… she's doing just fine."

"It's kinda like in my science class when we do experiments… cooking is all about measuring the right ingredients, and getting the right conditions to manifest," Rory observed.

Luke had never looked at cooking, or grilled cheese for that matter, that way before. He could only marvel at the brilliant observation of the young prodigy now in his life.

"…And it's kinda fun!" Rory smiled at her mom; happy that she was not only learning something new, but also she finally found a way to put Luke and her at ease around each other.

Lorelai watched as Luke gave Rory pointers on proper spatula technique and explained that he used milk instead of water for the canned soup to make it creamier, and therefore taste better, and there was the added bonus of calcium, which every growing girl needs, of course. Lorelai smiled too, that they had finally found something to talk about.

Once Rory started talking to Luke, she didn't stop. Over lunch, Rory asked Luke about some of the problems she and Lane had run into with the floorboard project. The young girls were able to find the hardwood floor staples as he described, and make an appropriate sized hole, but then there was the issue of protecting the actual CDs and not losing them in the house's insulation and frame work. Luke suggested a box to be suspended in the hole. He would have felt better if he could have installed it himself, but Mrs. Kim hardly trusted Lane alone with Lorelai, he couldn't imagine how far she would trust a single man in her only daughter's room.

Rory slurped up the last of her soup, pleased that she had an entire conversation with Luke, feeling things were finally getting on track with her own relationship with him. She then felt bad for banishing Luke on Saturday nights. Saturday night was usually date night, after all, but Luke would go back to close the diner when he had finished his little house projects for the Gilmores, and would leave before dinner. Rory didn't mean to exclude him, but she began to wonder if the boyfriend knew he would be welcome on Movie Night. Rory wondered if Luke and Lorelai had even had an adult date since the introduction Friday night dinner a month ago.

"Luke?" Rory looked up from her bowl.

"Yes, Rory…"

"Would you… wanna stay … for Movie Night?

This caught the attention of both adults. "Oh I don't know… I don't want to … you know… intrude…"

"It's not intruding if you are invited," Rory reasoned.

"Well, sure, if you want me to stay…"

"I do… and Mom would like it too."

The adults couldn't argue with her there, and they exchanged shy smiles at Rory's observation.

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To accept the invitation, Luke called the diner to check in and to tell Ben and Caesar he wouldn't be in that evening; he promised to make it up to them over the coming week. With their mutual powers of persuasion, Lorelai and Rory convinced Luke to trust their movie choices when they went to the video store and sent Luke to Doose's to get something for dinner. Both girls seemed excited to have Luke make dinner again in their seldom-used kitchen and watch a movie with them in the living room.

It was late after their mini movie-fest and Rory was still up because it was not a school night, and Luke was still at the Gilmore house. Lorelai walked him to the door and was just about to say goodnight to Luke.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked when he saw her expression.

She sighed, "…It's 11:30 on a Saturday night."

"So?"

"Soo you shouldn't be here…"

"I'm going _now_…"

"No. You shouldn't be _here_…" Lorelai stressed, feeling like Rory and her were cramping his hermit bachelor style.

"You invited me. Actually, Rory invited me." _She's trying… we both are…_

"Luke, you should be out at a bar or something… meeting nice, single women…"

Luke pulled her closer, "Hey, I'm dating a nice, single woman…"

"One without a kid," Lorelai clarified dryly.

"Lorelai, you know that doesn't matter to me. Besides…" _Despite my self, _"I …had fun," he shrugged

"You had fun watching Willy Wonka and Dark Crystal? Dark Crystal had Puppets. I'm sure you hated the Puppets…remember how annoyed you were during Labyrinth? "

"Well, despite the puppets, I had fun being with the two of you."

"The two of us?"

"Yeah, you two made the movies … bearable," he said, hoping Rory was getting more comfortable around him when she started the mocking the movie thing that she no doubt learned from her mother.

"You're sweet," and Lorelai closed the space between them.

He smiled, "It's late. I'd better go."

"Okay," and Lorelai wrapped her arms around him in a long hug, wishing he could stay, but knowing that would probably not fly with Rory; but being so close to him, smelling his scent, only then and there did it hit Lorelai that she and Luke hadn't been "alone" alone in over month. _Well considering I couldn't keep my hands off him before…. now is a little… sexual…time off. _Still, she missed being with him. "Hmm, I'm crazy about you," Lorelai murmured, realizing too late that her slip left her a little exposed and vulnerable, two feelings that she hated.

"Nah, you're just crazy... but… the feeling's mutual… " Luke loved being close to her, a stolen moment while Rory was out of sight. Luke didn't know if he could ask Lorelai out on an Adult date again now that Rory was in the picture, but he would let Lorelai take the lead, they were dealing with her kid after all; he wasn't going to step on anyone's toes. "I'll see you two for breakfast?"

"Yes, you will," and Lorelai gave him a goodnight kiss to seal the promise, and then reluctantly let him go.

Rory didn't mean to spy, but she peeked around the corner just in time to hear her mother suggest Luke see other women. _I thought she liked him,_ she wondered, but she had to smile when Luke refused to see anyone else but her mom,_ well duh she's a babe_. Lorelai was the one he wanted to spend time with, and he liked hanging out, the three of them together. Rory was starting to like it too, _almost like a family._ When he wanted to, Luke could be just as funny as the Gilmore girls with his dry humor.

Rory heard the "I'm crazy about you" confession, and then she saw her mom kiss Luke, and wondered why they didn't show more affection to each other if they liked each other so much. Rory figured it was to make her more comfortable around the pair. Rory recalled her mother's metaphor and it was kind of like a movie; only this was a real life love story. Rory began to wonder how long this could go on, and if her father was truly out of the picture, would Lorelai marry Luke one day. That prospect was exciting and scary at the same time… Rory decided to consider how she felt about that at a later on and not get ahead of herself.

When her mother closed the door, Rory saw how content and almost giddy Lorelai was merely thinking of Luke on the other side of the doorframe. Then Rory tried to remember if the adult pair had been alone in the few weeks Rory knew about the relationship.

"Hey sweets! Whatcha doing?" Lorelai asked, her tone almost conveying she was going to have good dreams tonight.

"Is Luke leaving?"

"Well, it's late, and he opens the diner very early in the morning. You and I probably aren't even up by then…"

Rory's forehead furrowed, suddenly recalling with perfect clarity that it had always been the three of them together, Luke and her mom hadn't had an adult date since Rory found out about the relationship.

"What? Did you need to ask him something for your project?"

"No… it's just… well," Rory didn't know how to say it; she knew generally what adult relationships entailed, again from the constant stream of movies that flew through the house. "I know you two… like each other…"

"Yeah."

"Well, do you think you'd…?" Rory didn't know if she could talk about this with her mother, it was territory that was uncomfortable and new.

"What?"

"Would you … want him to … stay over?" Rory asked with such innocent eyes.

"Stay…over?" Lorelai was confused, and then she saw what Rory was offering. "Honey? You mean like have Luke… spend the night?"

"Well yeah, like in the movies…" Rory explained, using her mother's metaphor again, so she would understand.

"Oh… Um, I don't know… it's kinda soon for that…" _We just got you two talking… _"Are you sure?"

"Well … yeah," Rory said not too convincingly. "Well, maybe… not every night, but… you know… you two should be together… as much as you want to." Now having seen them affectionate, Rory thought it was kinda cute.

"Let's think about this before we… invite Luke to stay the night… okay?"

"But Mom, since you've told me about… the two of you… you guys haven't really… been alone. We've always been in public at the diner or the three of us here… What if Sookie babysat… and if you and Luke wanted to see a movie or have dinner together… like a real date without me, I don't mind, really …"

"Rory…?"

"I just don't want to be in the way…" Rory only wanted to make sure her mother would continue to be happy.

"You are _never_ in the way," Lorelai said firmly, and to appease her daughter, Lorelai would at least consider it. "We'll see, but thank you… for … being …so considerate," Lorelai smiled lamely, uncomfortable talking about her sex life with her 11 year-old daughter.

"Oh My Gosh!" Rory exclaimed.

"What?" _Did she finally realize what she said and wants to take it all back?_

"We are missing the monologue of Saturday Night Live!" Rory rushed to the couch, already a princess of segues, as she learned from her mother.

**7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
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**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund … **

HELLO, MY LITTLE CRACK WHORES! (And other shout outs):  
Sorry I'm trying to do this really quickly before work so you all can get a hit before my dark day!  
A/N: okay… I can't win, (no I'm not talking about my office football pool although Hollie has won two weeks in a row…. Sus-pi-cious!) You all gotta cut me some slack on chapter lengths… I'm only one person…

A/N: As my beta put it –"… epiphanies are like buses…none forever, and then they all come at once – I read that in a book somewhere – Rory realizes how great Luke is and takes steps to make him a bit more present."


	17. You’re Invited …

**A/N: Insert Strong Bad voice:  
Like a Phoenix, from the ashes **

**...she rises again!**

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. WE just use the Gilmore Girls dolls during our slumber parties…. It's fun (shirtless Luke: with coffee pouring action, and the "Fry it and Buy it" Luke's Diner Play Set sold separately!) **

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: What if LL hooked up when they first met? What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**Luvz: Miss you! **

**To my devil egg Brigade: Bryanna, LukeandLorelai4ever, luvablemilo, screaming truth (of course you can eat some of them I'm making like 600…), **

**I love you all thank you. I don't feel alone any more… to add to Bryanna's shopping list… we will need a really huge pot… ummm some paprika… eggs of course… **

**A/N: Sorry no time to beta… maybe a post post beta… you know what I mean… **

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**Chapter 17  
You're Invited … **

For the following week, Lorelai tried to find a time to extend Rory's invitation to Luke. She felt a little weird inviting a grown man to spend the night at her house. With her folks it was always hidden, "leave before morning, don't let the adults find out". Now Lorelai and Luke were the adults, and they had her daughter's blessing, to boot. The only question was … when.

Now that Rory was more comfortable around Luke and could hold a conversation with him, she invited him over more and more. Usually when Lorelai and Rory ate breakfast at the diner, Rory would kindly ask if Luke was free for that evening. If Luke was available, and didn't have deliveries in the next morning, he would stop by the Gilmore house for whatever chore Rory reminded him of… or for a cooking lesson to prepare for Mrs. Kelly's layer cake project. Having Luke and Rory spend so much time together was nice, but it was awkward for Lorelai when she wanted to ask Luke's opinion on Rory's sleep over suggestion. Every time she wanted to bring up the subject, Rory would whisk him to the kitchen or to her room for a final measuring of her new shelves he was building in the front yard. Luke was focused on keeping things positive with Rory, measuring and installing the bookshelves for Rory's room, and even painted little daisies as an accent decoration, per Rory's request.

While Rory and Lane were out purchasing CDs so they could strap them to Lane's body, in order to smuggle them into the Kim house, Lorelai took the opportunity to discuss Rory's new invitation. "Um, Luke? Can we… talk?"

The tone of her voice told Luke this conversation was about serious relationship stuff. "… Lorelai? You sure this can't wait?" He was a little uncomfortable having a serious "talk" in her daughter's room. Not to mention that he was in the middle of a project, knocking on the walls, listening for the proper studs to mount the shelves on.

With almost a week's anticipation, Lorelai just blurted out: "Rory wants you to spend the night…"

Luke's head shot toward Lorelai, and he dropped the hammer and he was about to strike, "What?" his arms now limp at his sides.

"Well, you know… she realizes we are adults and that we like each other and part of that is being together… alone time… at night…like in the movies," Lorelai finished lamely, glad that again the metaphor came in handy.

"You're suggesting that we …" _with your daughter in the house!_

"No, no, no, well not … right away…at least, um, maybe just … try it a few nights… before well, um, you know…" _we make it all official._

"I don't know about this…I mean, we are trying to ease her into this…"

"Luke, she's an observant kid, she's done the math and she knows it's been awhile since you and I had an alone… adult type date."

"What?" It surprised Luke that Rory would keep track of such a stat.

"She's giving us her blessing to have … real dates… without her as a chaperon … you know, like going out to dinner… movies, like our first date… she's … considering our … feelings…"

"But she's just starting to like me… I don't want her to think … we are, you know… ignoring her…"

"Luke, she's always liked you…" to which Luke raised an eyebrow, "look…this was her suggestion… and it was only a suggestion. I mean, we haven't really been… _together_…" hoping he picked up the hint, "for a while…" _he's a guy, of course he's picked it up._

"I know."

"And Sookie can still baby-sit…"

"Maybe…" Luke already had an occasion in mind for an adult date.

"So maybe we can try the babysitting… alone adult dates to start… then we will see how we do… with the spending the night… thing later on… but in the meantime… "

"What?"

"Well, you two have been building those CD boxes… maybe there is another sleep over at the Kims in the future… and maybe… we could… have our own sleep over? Here? At my place this time? Or yours?"

"I just don't know?" having spent so much time at the Gilmore house now it was hard to be in the place and not think of Rory.

"Luke … I miss you…" and she walked toward him to hug him.

"I miss you too."

"Okay then we'll play it by ear… and I'll ask Rory if there is any word on the floor board project okay?"

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Unfortunately, Mrs. Kim was expecting visiting relatives from Korea, so the sleepovers had to be put on hold, and Lane was ousted to the living room to accommodate the foreign guests. This was just as well since the girls were at a stalemate on how to best handle sneaking in the CD storage. However, Rory would still sneak French fries into school so Lane could get her hit of the addictive carbohydrates.

Rory was wanting for her mom at the diner after school. She was a low maintenance customer and as long as Luke kept her in French Fries she was happy to do her homework at the counter.

"Hey …. Rory… I wanna run something past you…"

"Sure Luke…"

"Well… you see… I was wondering if you'd mind … if I could… take your mom out to dinner …"

"That's fine, Luke… I told Mom I don't mind… really…"

"No, but see … well ummm Thursday… is sorta special… and I know it's a school night…"

"What's special about Thursday?" Rory cocked her head to the side._ It's not mom's birthday… Easter already happened… and is on a Sunday…_

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Luke had suggested that if Lorelai didn't have to work, and only if Sookie was willing to baby-sit that he and Lorelai could go out on an adult date on Thursday night. Sookie promised to tape anything worthwhile on the television so Lorelai could enjoy her evening with her beau.

Rory was almost more excited about the date than Lorelai … almost, "Wear this one…" and she pulled a seldom used, but very pretty blue dress from her mother's closet. "It's so pretty, and you finally have a reason to wear it."

"See it's a good thing I bought it at that sale," Lorelai approved of the garment choice, but had to ask, "Why are you so excited?" from her vanity as she finished her makeup.

"Well, you two are going out… on a date… a real date… and it's your anniversary… it's so romantic…" Rory said in passing as she laid the dress on her mom's bed.

The make up brush stopped mid stroke, "What?"

As Rory was trying to pick some appropriate shoe options for her mother to choose from, "Luke told me that it's been three months since your first date …"

"It has?" and Lorelai did the math, _it has._ Lorelai counted up the weeks that had flew by with the now comfortable routine. She realized how nice it was to see Luke every morning, and to have him over to fix things and hang out at night… how slowly he had become more and more apart of their lives now that Rory approved of the relationship.

"…And he that he took you to Snooggies … or something…." Rory continued.

"Sniffy's" Lorelai corrected.

"Yeah Sniffy's and that he wanted to do something special for your anniversary… even if it's only a three months anniversary … so it is important that you look your best for him …"

Rory squeezed past her mother to poke around her mother's jewelry box to find some appropriate accessories for the "three month anniversary" dress, as she continued, "… And like you said… this is just like the movies… It's like a novel being played out right before me! I want to see where the story goes."

Lorelai smiled, at her daughter's newfound enthusiasm and positive perspective on the relationship she was so resistant to before. She had to give her little girl a hug and kissed her forehead.

"Mom! Now you have to redo your lipstick!" Rory scolded.

"Sorry" and Lorelai still felt t he need to double check. " Are you absolutely sure you will be able to survive with out me?"

"Mom we will be fine… and we have your cell phone if anything requires your attention."

"But I mean it… I feel like… Luke and I… are well… abandoning you…"

"Don't worry… besides, Luke promised that the three of us could go to Sniffy's this weekend if I wanted…"

_Ever-thoughtful Luke. _

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Maisy insisted that they drink champagne since not only were they on a date, but also it was their anniversary. Lorelai asked Buddy to slip Luke a beer when Maisy went to great some incoming patrons.

Lorelai couldn't help but stare at Luke, he was so pretty, so thoughtful, but self-doubt began to creep in the back of her mind. Lorelai wondered if she really deserved Luke, and she felt even guiltier recalling how Rory had warmed up to him, and everything seemed to be falling into place… Lorelai began to wonder if it was all too good to be true.

He didn't seem to mind the unwavering gaze but Luke was curious and had to ask… "What?" as he reached across the table for her hand.

The concern in his voice, the touch of his hand, made Lorelai smile, "You remembered our anniversary…" she confessed in a whisper.

Now he was embarrassed, "Well yeah... I thought women liked that."

"We do… it's just…" and she confessed, "I didn't really even know when 'we' started with the whole Rory not knowing and all … I just… I didn't keep track. I don't even think Chris and I commemorated anniversaries…"

There was an awkward pause over the mention of the Ex, but Luke segued gracefully, "Well here's to a new traditions," Luke toasted, thankful for the beer Lorelai arranged.

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"This was nice, a chance to get out… be together," Lorelai observed, "It's been so long…I feel like it's our first date again…" she laughed as she went up the stairs.

"Yeah," Luke agreed, close behind her.

"I mean, it's been awhile, … this is not exactly like our first date... but you know, the cliché… a kiss good night… under the porch light," she smiled, and thinking of that impending moment of his lips on hers made her quiet. "ummm I rhymed …" feeling that giddy, stupid anticipation again.

Luke stepped forward, to keep her from babbling further, he kissed her. It didn't take long to fall into a different routine, and Lorelai realized just how much she had missed him, wondering why they hadn't taken advantage of the whole night to be alone, instead of going to a stupid movie or eating. When his lips went down her neck, Lorelai gasped "Oh man … we should have gone to the diner…" wishing she could keep up the necking the rest of the night. _That would be enough to keep me perfectly satisfied… well almost._ Only one thing would have made the anniversary more perfect, but they were already at her front door, and to back track to the diner would have tipped off the network of spies. You could say that the gossips of Stars Hollow had their own definition of "Neighborhood Watch".

"I should go, "Luke whispered in her ear, unable to believe how she could make him forget himself.

"Hmmm 5 more minutes…"

"Babette is watching," _no doubt._

"Having an audience is the new trend, go with it…" and she tried to kiss him again.

"Lorelai…" Luke scolded with a smirk.

Lorelai sighed, "Good night Luke."

"Good night."

"Happy anniversary?" and she offered another goodnight kiss.

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Lorelai entered the house all warm and fuzzy, only to find Sookie and Rory sleeping on the couch, the TV on mute and flickering at them.

Rory heard her mom's keys on the desk in the hall… "How was it?" even though she was exhausted, she wanted details of the progressing love story.

"Nice," almost wanting a do over, were they got to the good stuff right away.

"Only nice?" Rory complained, "It's an anniversary, it's supposed to be special."

"It was. I had fun."

"That's good," Rory yawned.

"Come on, let's get you to bed…" and Lorelai picked up her growing girl.

Rory asked a mumbled, "Did he kiss you goodnight…" from her mother's shoulder, her legs hitched at her mother's waist, and Lorelai thought it was cute how she wanted the details now.

"Yeah…" to say the least and wishing there was a little more.

When Rory was in her bed, with Cornel Cluckers, "Mom… I'm really okay with it… if you want him to stay here…"

"I know kid… We'll see."

"He likes hanging out with us… Don't you think he'd like to stay the night?" Rory yawned again.

"Well that is a big step…for all of us."

"So is a three month anniversary… you never had one of those before…"

"I'll ask him again if you want…"

"Please… I want you two … to be happy" and Rory was asleep again.

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**A/N: My beta put it best "I hope Chris crawls under a bus and just dies. … Failing that, Luke maims him for life." **

**To which I responded "why can't Chris just write a book and have a Kathy Bates #1 fan kidnap him and hobble him to live out the rest of his days in Colorado..."  
FAV PARTS:**

**-** You could say that the gossips of Stars Hollow had their own definition of "Neighborhood Watch".

**7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 **

**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund … **


	18. Misery Loves Company

**A/N: Insert Strong Bad voice:  
Like a Phoenix, from the ashes **

**...she rises again!**

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. WE just use the Gilmore Girls dolls during our slumber parties…. It's fun (shirtless Luke: with coffee pouring action, and the "Fry it and Buy it" Luke's Diner Play Set sold separately!) **

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: What if LL hooked up when they first met? What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**JEEPY: thanks for the beta!**

**A/N: as added penance for the sin that was the last chapter… here is a better chapter … 17 had to happen in order for Wonderful charming 18 to be… (Yeah keep telling yourself that) **

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**Chapter 18:  
Misery Loves Company **

The big day finally arrived.

It had been two weeks since Rory's generous offer, one week since their anniversary dinner, and it was decided that they should just get the first night over with, _like pulling off a band aid._ It was a Saturday, aka Movie night… and Luke was not going to go back to the diner at the end of the night. The couple did everything they could to keep the anticipated sleep over a secret from the gossips; Rory wasn't even aloud to tell Lane.

The stage was set, and Lorelai kept double and triple checking with Rory, kept explaining in different ways that Luke wouldn't be leaving till morning… and that Luke and her would be sharing the master bedroom. Rory knew all this, and assured her mother everything would be fine, but when there was a knock at the door, the true test began for all.

Luke arrived at the Gilmore house, and with a shy "Hi Luke," Rory greeted their guest as she opened the door for him, trying not to stare at the overnight bag he brought in with him. _No going back now… you asked for this… and it will make mom happy._

"Hey… Rory…ummm would you mind… taking these…" handing her the Luke's take out bags, "I brought burgers…you know… for the movie…"

"Great," she smiled a little too broadly, to hide her nerves.

"Extra cheese just the way you like 'em."

"Thanks, ummm, I'll put them in the living room."

Rory had really grown to like Luke. He was nice to her mom, treated her like an adult despite the fact she was 11, and Luke considered her favorite things when planning a menu. She was comfortable around Luke, but tonight everyone's relationship was evolving. This was a big step for everyone and all parties were a little nervous, especially when they thought of how it would eventually get twisted and turned in the gossip mill.

"Hey handsome…" Lorelai took advantage of Rory being out of sight to steal a kiss form her fella. It still felt strange to be kissing a boy around her daughter. Especially if that boy was Luke, and seeing as it had been a while since they were intimate… well Lorelai didn't know if she would behave her self come bedtime.

Luke had never spent the night at a girlfriend's house before, usually he was the one imposed upon. When Rachel would just blow into town and crash at his place… disrupt his routine, and blow out of town just as quickly. Now he felt like he was the one intruding… even though he was invited, but he knew his own discomfort in the situation and hoped it would pass, he could only imagine how Rory really felt, but Lorelai seemed to cover everything with a smile. "So, what's the movie this week?" he asked.

"Ahhh a new Classic…" Lorelai smiled proudly at her taste in movies, "Misery…directed by Rob Reiner."

"Never seen it…" Luke shrugged.

"Why am I not surprised?" Lorelai rolled her eyes at her fella, and settled on the couch with him.

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With the movie to distract them, they almost forgot that Luke would be sleeping over. At one end of the couch, Luke had his arm around Lorelai, on the other end Rory was with her own personal bowl of popcorn. Rory sat Indian style with the bowl in her lap, and watched the movie, silently riveted to the screen, only occasionally slowly munching on her salty snack. She was unusually quiet which concerned Luke; he thought that Rory's stillness was because she was scared. _There was a car wreck not even before the credits were done._ Even though he argued that she was too young for this movie, Lorelai assured Luke, her daughter's silence was normal for a thriller. Lorelai knew that Rory had found the Shining to be laughable, so she thought Rory would be okay for this flick. Rory had to harshly shush them, scolding that they were missing the movie.

There was the occasional flinch from Rory as James Caan's injuries were revealed… and as they worsened… and quick intakes of breathe whenever Kathy Bates would start suddenly ranting in anger. All in all Rory was quietly taking in the movie with large eyes, unable to believe how such a sweet lady could get so nutty. Lorelai also noticed how Rory would peak over at Luke and her, the impending sleep over no doubt weighing on her mind, or maybe it was just to see if they reacted as she had to the scene before them.

Rory didn't seem to mind that Luke and Lorelai showed moderate affection. Luke and Lorelai recently got the courage to try to hold hands, and give brief pecks hello and goodbye around Rory, all had passed without Rory flinching. But this was the night, the first night a man would stay in the house, and Lorelai knew if it was weird for her… it had to be weird for Rory too.

After the Movie, they had a spacer of late night TV to distract from the looming fact that Luke didn't have to go home tonight. None of the three of them knew how to address the subject of going to bed when they were finally getting drowsy.

Rory didn't seem tired, but Lorelai knew she should make the effort, and she tucked Rory to give her the opportunity in private to voice any uneasiness, "Goodnight Angel," but Lorelai could tell Rory was still anxious about something, "Is everything okay?"

"Yes," Rory said shortly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Anything you want to confide in dear old mom?"

"No."

"Rory," Lorelai knew she was lying, she could tell in her eyes, "you know Luke doesn't have to stay tonight… if it's too soon… or if you are uncomfortable… we can…"

"No! He can stay." Rory said quickly.

"You sure?"

"Yes, absolutely, he has to stay!" Rory insisted.

"Okay then…well, Luke and I will be upstairs if you need us."

"Okay," Rory nodded in understanding, still wide-awake.

To Lorelai, Rory looked so small with her covers up to her chin. Lorelai knew her daughter had to be just a little bit uncomfortable with the idea of a man being in the house. Lorelai began to wonder if Rory was forcing it, just so Lorelai would be happy with her beau, although this sleep over had been Rory's idea, maybe now that the night was here, she was having second thoughts, but Rory still insisted Luke had to stay; So, Lorelai accepted that, turned off the lights, and went up stairs.

Luke was wearing a T-shirt and sweat pants, he also seemed uneasy, "you got everything you need?" Lorelai asked seeing him on the bed.

"Yeah, I'm fine. … ummm I'm done with the bath room so you can… you know."

"Thanks." She took her PJs in with her and changed there,_ weird, considering he's already seen me naked, _maybe her own discomfort was coming out in the tell tale action.

Lorelai returned to the bedroom after brushing her teeth, and Lorelai noticed Luke was still awake on "his side" of the bed. She adjusted under the covers to be close to him, "What is? Is the movie gonna give you bad dreams?"

"No, I 'm just … this is different for me… I mean …"

Lorelai noticed the same frustration in Rory when she couldn't find the right words, "What?"

"… This bed is so big," Luke finished.

"The better to do all things dirty," she snuggled closer to him, but seeing he wasn't in the mood for her humor, "What?"

"I'm serious, this is a different place, I mean… I've slept in the same room …alone… for … 7 years…. It's just … weird. Plus Rory is down stairs..."

"Luke, it was Rory's idea, she wants you to stay… I want you to stay… "

"I want to stay too, but I just … I have to … get used to this…. "

"I know." With a glint in her eye and a kiss on his cheek "What will make you comfortable?"

"I … just need a few nights…" he got out decidedly.

"You are so cute."

"Jeez," but holding her in his arms was all too easy. With their combined comfort and body heat under the covers, they fell asleep quickly.

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Lorelai took in a deep breath, and opened her eyes and they were met with the face of Luke, which was weird and wonderful at the same time. She had never had a man stay over in her bed all night before; it was… kind of nice, just as the sleep over at Luke's apartment had been; His arms around her, keeping her safe and warm.

Then Lorelai realized what had woken her up at the late hour. There was a persistent poking in her back, and she rolled over to see the two twinkling spheres that were daughter's eyes. "Rory? Ummmm can I … help you…?" Lorelai self-consciously pulled up the covers, not sure how Rory would react to actually seeing her mother in bed with Luke, despite their respective PJs.

"I'm sorry but… can I sleep in here tonight?"

"What?" Lorelai whispered low, as to not disturb Luke.

"Can I sleep with you … guys?" Rory made sure she acknowledged Luke's presence.

It had long been decided that once Rory hit the double digits she was too big to sleep with mommy, particularly now since mommy had a boyfriend. "Why?" Lorelai had to ask, curious at just how small Rory's voice sounded.

Rory took a deep breath and confessed quickly, "I tried to be a big girl and not be scared, but every time I close my eyes I see Kathy Bates chasing me with a sledge hammer."

"Awwww honey…" seeing her daughter was truly upset; "you were fine during the movie…"

"Yeah, but I had you and Luke there to protect me… but now it's dark and quiet, and…I was all alone in my room… all I can think about is do I really want to become a writer just so I can have a crazy stalking fan kidnap me and nurse me back to health in the off chance I'm in a car crash? …Please, can I sleep here?"

"Of course you can," and Luke pulled the covers back to leave, "I'll go down stairs…" _the couch is like camping. _

Lorelai was surprised that Luke was up and secondly that he was leaving, "What? No!"

"Lorelai, its okay…you two should be alone…" and Luke got out of the bed, and Rory was about to climb up next to her mother.

"Wait a second," Lorelai knew there had to be a way to comfort her child without kicking out her boyfriend. _Come on Lorelai think fast. _

Luke stopped at the foot of the bed wondering what she could possibly say to change his mind. There was no way he was gonna let her choose him over her own terrified daughter.

Rory just wanted to go back to sleep with the safety and security of her mother, but she could see that her mother's mind was frantically racing to compromise their sleeping arrangements.

Lorelai knew that the three of them together in the same bed would only add to the anxiety and discomfort of the situation. Then a brilliant idea struck Lorelai, "how about we all go down stairs?" she suggested. "We can all sleep in the living room, and… make a real slumber party of it."

Luke didn't know how comfortable he'd be with a … slumber party, he was a grown man after all, but Rory completely ran with the idea.

Rory seemed to catch a second wind, "Yes, and you can to protect mom and me," she smiled at Luke.

"What?" Luke repeated.

"You look like you could take Kathy Bates, Mom, doesn't he look like he could take her?"

"Ummm sure…" Lorelai shrugged, happy one of them had liked the idea. "Oooo and we could make s'mores, Luke you know how to build a fire, don't you?" _My camping fishing wilderness man…_

"Well umm yeah?" unable to believe these girls were shanghaiing him into a slumber party.

"Great it's settled," Lorelai smiled.

"Cool, I'll get the blankets," Rory hopped off her mother's bed, "Come on Luke you can give the down stairs the once over."

"The once over?"

"Yeah, check the locks, Ooooo and the closets and make sure Kathy Bates isn't here… and maybe if she sees you through the bushes, she'll think twice!"

"I think Kathy Bates has better things to do…" Luke clarified as Rory pulled him down stairs to go along with the idea.

Lorelai heard her daughter's voice fade down the stairs, dragging Luke down the steps with her. "… But … I'm scared, and the house is creaky and dark, you have to protect mom who will in turn protect me… and…"

Lorelai was surprised by this turn of events, what a way to bond her boyfriend and daughter… a Stephen King movie. She gathered up all the blankets in her room and realized that earlier, Rory was more scared of the movie than of Luke spending the night. The young girl had his male presence to rely on for protection. When Lorelai came down the stairs, Rory was watching as Luke prepared the fireplace.

"Make it look like a volcano", Rory suggested.

As requested, Luke piled the kindling into a funnel shape, and then he coiled up a piece of newspaper and lit it, and threw it up the floo.

"Why did you do that?" Rory asked, never really knowing how the fireplace worked.

"Well by putting the burning paper up there, it will make the air in the chimney warmer …and the warm air will pull the smoke out of the house …"

"… Because heat rises", Rory finished.

Still marveling how smart she was for an 11 year old. "Wanna … help me … light it…?" He didn't know what else to say but thought he'd offer if she wanted to try something new.

"Okay."

Luke lit a long fireplace match and helped Rory set fire to the kindling around the base of her "volcano".

Lorelai smiled at the scene, as she went in to the kitchen for s'more supplies, one of the more perfect comfort foods.

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"Mom, fresh s'mores are definitely better than microwave s'mores."

"Yeah?" she smiled at her little girl.

"Yeah, their all… smoky tasting… Luke did you have one yet?"

"I don't like s'mores."

"How can you not like s'mores? The only thing more perfect than s'mores... are Mallomars. Cause … they taste like s'mores… with out all the work…"

"...And both are unbelievably unhealthy…"

Then Rory argued, "But marshmallows are a fat free food."

"It's not the fat … it's the calories and sugar that get you…"

"Come on Luke" Rory encouraged, and she took her freshly toasted marshmallow off her metal skewer, and sandwiched it with the chocolate and graham crackers, "I made this one special…. Just for you… you have to eat it now…"

"Is that the rule?" Luke asked.

"Yes! Now, come on..."

It almost annoyed him how much like her mother Rory was. Luke reluctantly took the sugar sandwich to please the young girl, and took a bite, begrudgingly chewing since he was being closely watched.

"And… how is it?" Rory asked.

"Not bad."

Rory was definitely better with food to distract her, and adults to protect her, "Hey you want to help me finish the Count of Monte Cristo?" Rory found her book on the pushed aside coffee table, and handed the book to Luke.

"What?"

Lorelai chimed in too, "yeah Luke, read to us."

Looking back and forth between the two Gilmores, Luke couldn't say no to those big blue eyes that were so much like her mothers, "If you insist."

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They had enjoyed Alexander Dumas' masterpiece. Much to the amusement of Lorelai, Rory would correct Luke's occasional mispronunciation, but both girls loved the story time by the fire with Luke's soothing voice.

Rory had quickly fallen asleep to the sound of that voice and Lorelai knew she was in danger of falling in love. Luke was so good, so understanding, trying so hard and being such a sport to do all this for Rory, just so she wouldn't be scared. In the remaining firelight, Lorelai watched him shift about in his make shift bed on the floor, trying to get to sleep.

Luke was on his back, Lorelai was on her side, and Rory was huddled close to her mother between the two adults, flanked with peace of mind and protection. Luke seemed to feel Lorelai's eyes on him, and briefly met her gaze, then only smiled back at her.

Then suddenly Rory woke up, gasping to escape the nightmare, out of breath calling, "Mom."

"I'm here, baby," trying to stay quiet, hoping she'd go back to a peaceful sleep.

Rory vowed through heavy slits, "I am never watching that movie again…"

"Okay," Lorelai met Luke's eyes again.

"Poor Buster…" and Rory mourned the loss of loveable sheriff from the movie.

"Good night girls," Luke said gently to remind them that it was now time for sleep.

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**A/N: I LOVE THIS Chapter Title! It just came to me… I don't know how I do it! Just another brief shining brilliant moment! **

**A/N: does anyone else remember in Star Crossed Lovers and other strangers how Lorelai mentioned to Richard that Rory was terrified of the movie misery… and couldn't sleep alone for a week… then their was that awkward conversation about the elder Gilmore sleeping arrangements? no just me… okay then…. **

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"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
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**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund … **


	19. Insert Fear of Commitment … Here

**A/N: Insert Strong Bad voice:  
Like a Phoenix, from the ashes **

**...she rises again!**

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. (JUST GIVE ME A JOB and we will call it even!) **

This is a revised chapter… original was pubbed on… and this was pubbed on…  
R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.)

**Summary/ The Q: What if LL hooked up when they first met? What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**Luvz: I miss you **

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**Chapter 19:  
Insert Fear of Commitment … Here**

Come morning, with Luke's presence, Rory was so relaxed that she was comfortably spread out between the two adults in a large "X" on the floor. Luke had woken up later than his normal time due to the change in his schedule of having to protect Rory in the middle of the night, and when he first woke up, he found one of Rory's limbs in his face, as he removed it and as he sat up, his back hurt from sleeping on the hardwood floor. As he saw the Gilmores in his life, still sleeping soundly, he smiled, and with all things considered … he did have fun with the slumber party. It certainly had been intimidating, but he decided he wouldn't mind doing it again sometime… provided they avoided the scary movies for Rory's sake… and that they never tried to get him to braid their hair.

Quietly, Luke found coffee in Lorelai's kitchen to make her a pot, and as it brewed, he called the diner to check in with how the Sunday brunch was going with out him. Luke had already arranged for the morning off but he knew would have to close tonight to repay Caesar and Ben for accommodating his love life. As Luke hung up the phone, he felt arms snake around his waist, "Morning" he greeted the arms, feeling a warm cheek on his back.

Lorelai had thought Rory's position was so cute she let her be and sought out Luke. The sweet wonderful man was making her coffee, and for that deserved a hug… at least, "Hmmm Morning…"

Luke took advantage that Rory was a sleep and gave Lorelai a conservative kiss, considering neither had brushed their teeth yet.

"So how do you feel… the morning after…?" Lorelai teased, testing the waters of him spending the night.

"Well this is definitely not what I expected… but I do like waking up with you," he had to admit.

"Well, we will just have to try this again… minus the hard wood floor..." _maybe… minus the daughter,_ she selfishly thought.

"Sure …next week maybe…" Luke shrugged.

"Sounds like a plan" Lorelai sighed, and cuddled with him before Rory woke up; relieved she would have amble time to slowly get used to Luke's increasing presence in their lives.

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However, that evening, Lorelai noticed as the sun went down Rory seemed to get nervous again on the couch. Rory seemed unable to focus on her book, checking over her shoulder, like she heard something and wanted to check it out, but didn't want to admit a sound was made. After watching this behavior for a few minutes Lorelai had to ask. "Is something wrong, Hon?"

"What? No, no, nothing is wrong…" and Rory casually asked… "Ummmm is Luke coming over? You know tonight?"

Curious by the question, Lorelai reminded her daughter, "We hadn't planned on it… remember you said he couldn't stay every night, sooo we all could… ease in to it."

"Right… right," Rory remembered, "well do you think… maybe… you could call him … and see if … maybe… he _wants_ to come over…?"

"Rory? What is going on?"

"Nothing… Just thought … you'd like to see Luke. I was being considerate."

"Wow, you sound like my mother."

"Hey!" Rory was naturally offended, knowing how much her mother disliked Grandma Gilmore.

"Seriously, what is it?"

"Yesterday it was okay," Rory argued.

"For what?"

"For me to sleep with you guys"

"Yeah… well, Luke had planned on spending the night… "

"And it's nice to have a… male protector type in the house isn't it?" Rory pointed out.

Then Lorelai figured it out…"Are you still scared of the movie?"

"No!" Rory dismissed dramatically in a defensive drone.

"Rory?" Lorelai's tone conveyed it was okay and that she already knew the truth.

"Yes" Rory admitted in a small voice.

Lorelai sat with her daughter on the couch, finding the fictional fear cute, "Hon, it was just a movie…"

"I know… but it sorta hit close to home… I mean I wanna be a writer… who's to say I won't have a fan like that chasing after me…"

"Rory you have school in the morning… Luke can't come over on a school night… that is your rule."

"Well, I hereby amend it… for extreme circumstances… now please… make the call."

"You can sleep with me tonight… but I don't think Luke…"

"Luke has to be here too," Rory insisted. Rory had never needed a male protector before, but after spending so much time with Luke lately, Rory could see the added benefits of having a reliable "go to guy" who could take out a psychopathic fanatic.

"Rory…?"

"Luke is a guy and you said last night he could take Kathy Bates"

"Yes, he could but…"

"And he is your boyfriend isn't he supposed to protect you and stuff."

"Yeah I… guess," It was the first time Lorelai ever heard Rory refer to Luke as her boyfriend, and that was strange to hear from the 10 year old, suddenly seeing how attached Rory was getting to Luke.

"Well I'm part of you … I am your responsibility till I'm 18…I mean I understand if he has to close the diner. …But afterward … maybe he could…stop by…and well stay."

Lorelai soothed, "I'll ask…"

"Thank you…" that seemed to calm Rory and she went back to her book, but closely watched as Lorelai dialed Luke's number.

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"Luke's"

"You will not believe it."

Luke now knew the sound of Lorelai's voice and her habit of just jumping into a conversation, even if you weren't ready for it, "Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just you will not believe it."

"Okay what?"

"Rory has requested your presence … to spend the night."

"What?"

"She's still freaked out by the movie and wants you to sleep over again … to protect us." Lorelai couldn't help but appreciate the irony, since Rory was so against her mother dating at first.

"Protect you… from what?"

"Well from the crazed sledge hammer wielding, lighter fluid tossing Kathy Bates I have stashed in the closet ... of course… I knew she'd come in handy one day…" Lorelai was anticipating a "no", and winced when she asked, "So can you come over?" Lorelai had to admit; she was looking forward to the prospect of another night with Luke, so she forced aside her anxiety of what the town might think. Granted nothing dirty could happen …but that could wait… and would be rekindled in its own time, but _Rory's peace of mind is more important. _The slumber party had given Lorelai a warm complete feeling she had never had before, and Lorelai wanted to revisit that. "I mean, last night you two were talking pretty well without me … and I would just hate to see all the progress you two made go away…" _yeah I'm doing this for the two of you…not my own selfish reasons of seeing you again… _

Luke took a minute, "well if she wants me over…let me just tell Ben okay?"

"Oh you can close-up or whatever," not wanting to sound too eager, of course, "we sorta owe those guys … but she wants you here for bed time."

"Alright… after close it is…" he agreed.

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So for the following week, that was the insisted upon sleeping arrangement, Luke, Lorelai and Rory in the living room. Before bedtime, Luke would take Rory around the house and double-checked locks and windows; they would investigate the creaks in the stairs together, which Luke made a note to fix later.

The trio would get brushed and dressed for bed, and Luke had to get comfortable real quick with sleeping over, but Rory's insistence made it easier.

By Wednesday evening, Luke even showed Rory his mother's recipe for banana bread, as a way to practice for the dreaded layer cake in Miss Kelly's class.

On Saturday evening, Lorelai was about to make her way down the stairs when she heard Rory and Luke talking on the floor of the living room.

"Did it hurt?"

"Yeah, a bit… well quite a bit. I don't recommend you get one." Luke seriously warned Rory.

"Well, I'd have to ask my mom first any way."

Lorelai tilted her head to see them on through the banister railings and saw Luke was lying on his back, on his side of the indoor camp and Rory was lying on her stomach, legs crossed in the air, she had a book in front of her, but she gave up reading to be polite and talk to Luke while they waited for Lights out and Lorelai. Lorelai then deduced that Rory was asking about Luke's tattoo.

"Why did you get theses arrow… things?" Rory prodded again.

"Well, it was at a time in my life… I needed... direction… you could say… I saw this picture on the wall and it just sorta jumped out at me…"

"So you had it imprinted on your arm...forever?" Rory droned out dramatically. She was confused as to why someone would purposefully hurt them selves.

Rory was so inquisitive, and Luke wanted to be honest, but handle the subject gently, "Well, it was… right after my dad died… and … I don't know I just didn't want to think about it... and in a way… having to sit in a chair for a few hours … well it gave me something else to focus on…" _with nothing but unbelievable pain to focus on…well a different kind of pain… _"Would I do it again? No… if I could do it over… would I still get it… probably not"

"I'm sorry about your dad …" Rory said in a small sad voice, she could sympathize with Luke; because she knew what it was like not to have a father. _See we have stuff in common, _Rory told herself having felt better around Luke with the cooking lessons and his protection after Misery.

"Thanks…"

Lorelai made her way down the stairs, hoping she wasn't interrupting, "We all settled in? Had our fill of s'mores?"

Rory closed her book, "I'm ready…" and in an unexpected move Rory gave Luke a hug goodnight, "night Luke." Rory had known him for a few months now, and she felt he deserved it… having slept on the living room floor for a week.

"Night… Rory?" Luke was surprised but had to smile as he accepted the hug and patted Rory on the back. He figured she wanted him to feel better about loosing his dad, since that was the last topic they had been discussing. And he hoped the cooking lessons and sleepovers helped make her more comfortable around him.

"Mom, do you want to sleep next to Luke?"

"Ummm sure," Lorelai didn't know why "the hug" was so strange to her; it just was… seeing Rory hug a boy? A man? Someone that wasn't her father or Grandfather "… is that okay?" she asked her daughter and herself.

"Sure… this way I'm closer to the stairs and I can run up to your bedroom, out the window… climb down the tree and go for help."

As Lorelai settled in the middle and pulled her blanket over her, "Ummm sure because you are sooo athletic…" and Lorelai settled down beside Luke, her daughter huddling up close to her mother again, and Lorelai smiled at Luke and took his hand to hold all night, but still "the hug" replayed in her mind a few times.

A family trio tucked in the living room every night, Luke was happy to protectively watch over the girls … his girls.

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On Sunday morning, Rory woke up first… as she squinted over the stupid sun coming up so early she looked to her left and saw a sight that brought a smile to her face.

Lorelai was on her back, but was facing Luke, and Luke had his arms draped over Lorelai's waist. Rory quietly crept to her mother's room, now knowing which squeaky stairs to avoid, and she brought her mother's camera to document some of the relationship.

Rory knew she was taking an awful risk A) using her mother's camera without permission, and B) using a flash on sleeping subjects, but something told her she should do it. She knew in the long run having pictures of the two together would be worth it.

The flash went off a few times and Lorelai was starting to stir awake, Rory quickly ran upstairs put the camera away and flushed the upstairs toilet, as to not arouse suspicion. _Good one Gilmore! _

Lorelai sat up, with Luke's arm still across her stomach, "Rory?" she asked with a dry groggy voice, seeing her daughter on the landing of the stairwell, "what are you doing?"

"Bathroom," Rory pointed over her shoulder to the good bathroom upstairs.

"Awww…okay" and Lorelai settled back down on her side to face Luke.

And Rory thought that this shot was even better than the first… and she went upstairs to retrieve the camera again. _Cool I could be a photojournalist, too…_

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Babette and her cat, Cinnamon, were getting the morning paper for Morey, when both female and feline were witness to one Luke Danes leaving the Gilmore house very early in the morning. Good thing cats land on their feet, because Babette was inside and spreading the word like Armageddon before Cinnamon even hit the porch.

After that eyewitness account had broken on the gossip scene, there was a resurgence of interest in the small town's couple, and the latest craze in Stars Hollow became Luke and Lorelai watching. All eyes were on the trio, but the gossips had to be cunning and sly as to not tip off the three points of interest. An innocent comment at Doose's market between mother and daughter about their plans with Luke would quickly make its way through town to anyone who wanted to observe …or tag along in some cases.

For instance, if it was time for another absurd festival, despite Luke's long standing opinion on stupid festivals, with the Gilmore girls in his life, their enthusiasm some how infected him as well and he would look forward to the excuse to spend another evening with them. His improved moods didn't go unnoticed by his patrons.

One of the favorite sights of all the gossips in town was to see Rory walk between Luke and Lorelai, holding a hand of each adult, dragging them around to the attractions she wanted to see at the festivals or if they were simply going to the store. However, as time went on, the trio became alarmingly aware of certain characters checking in on them no matter how mundane their errand was, namely Kirk, Patty, and Babette, with Taylor keeping a close eye from a distance.

There was no escape. Every kiss was reported, every time Rory hung out at the diner after school, or if the three arrived together at a town meeting, all the sightings were whispered and discussed with great interest. The "little family" was under a microscope. The gossips were just happy to be observers to the "family's'" memories, and there was no doubt, the townies of Stars Hollow had taken the trio to their hearts, and hoped for the best. And that was, of course, the eventual wish of every nosey body in town, that before long they would have a wedding to speak of and plan.

They would be ever so careful not to disturb them at festivals or town meetings, but as it became more obvious to the trio the entire town was watching them, the constant attention was starting to get on Lorelai's nerves.

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After a month of being on under the microscope, Lorelai was at her wits end with everyone in town, even those closest to her. On her break, usually spent with Sookie, Lorelai almost regretted coming in the kitchen at all. "Sookie, I'm not tasting those" pushing the fork her friend offered out of her face.

"But I need an unbiased opinion… you know I can't make a decision to save my life, and you love my cooking… and this is cake…you love my cakes…" Sookie tried to entice again.

"No!"

"Please… you know my annual review is coming up…"

"…In 6 months" Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"…And this affects my hope for a promotion."

"I know what you are doing," Lorelai said sternly.

"Yeah, trying to impress Rafael with how organized and decisive I can be."

"Okay, you are anally organized, and in order to prove how decisive you are, you would have to decide this on your own."

"It's just a cake, one bite," Sookie pleaded.

"No, it's not just a cake Sookie! It's a whole line of sample cakes for my wedding cake!"

"What?" Sookie was suddenly lost.

Lorelai clarified "Luke and I have only been going out a few months and the entire town is ready to spring a wedding at a moment's notice."

And Sookie began to daydream, "ooooo a spring wedding."

"Stop it!" Lorelai shouted and stormed out of the inn's kitchen. She decided she needed air, and took off her heels to make her way faster across the lawn to the large pond, but spring fading into summer reminded her of birds and bees, and spring love, _a spring wedding! _Lorelai sank down by the shoreline, she was starting to doubt again, and wondered if she deserved to be in a happy relationship.

Sookie had followed her friend, concerned for Lorelai's sudden explosion, "Lorelai ... Honey… what's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," and she hugged her knees closer to her chest, "it's just… everyone needs to mind their own business."

"Honey…did you and Luke have a fight?"

"No… we didn't have a fight…" almost annoyed how the subject always found it's way to Luke. Lorelai rubbed her temples she really didn't know why she was acting this way.

"Then what is it?"

Lorelai sighed, and said plainly "She hugged him …" with a small shrug.

"What?"

"Rory… she hugged Luke goodnight when he spent the night during the Misery week…"

"So…"

"SO…" Lorelai tried to find the words to explain why it bothered her… "She's getting attached to him… "

"Well that's good… she likes him… "

"But enough to hug him?"

"This is ridiculous…" Sookie sat down with Lorelai on the ground, "before you were worried she wouldn't like him and now you are upset that she does?" Sookie shook her head wondering why Lorelai seemed to want to ruin the best thing to happen to her in ages, "Lorelai…you are not making any sense?"

"But what if … he leaves too… and we are both heart broken again?"

"Luke is not Christopher, the last few months should have proven that. I mean he goes to the festivals with you, did the protective sleep over for a week, he makes all your favorite foods…"

"But that isn't enough for a relationship."

"Then what is?"

"I don't know … something …more? I don't know something about this seems… wrong…" and Lorelai tried to think of what that reason could be.

"Lorelai you deserve to be happy… and I really think Luke could be the one for you."

Lorelai honestly didn't know what was gnawing at her about this perfect relationship with a perfect guy, who liked her perfect kid … but something in her gut wanted to sabotage the whole thing.

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When Lorelai came home she was very quiet, and Luke knew right away that was bad. It's a good thing he decided to surprise her and came over early, He hoped the homemade meal would distract her from her all the things she no doubt had weighing on her mind.

"Hey," he sweetly greeted, waiting for her end of the day rant over stupid guests, or any funny observations she had made during the day.

Instead Lorelai snapped and was almost annoyed to find Luke in her house, "What are you doing here?"

"We had a date tonight… remember."

"But you are here… early" she said emphasized harshly, "…I need time to get pretty."

"You don't need it… but I figured we could just stay in, if you wanted," figuring a rough day had put that look on her face.

"What if I wanted to go out? Our plans were to go out…" she continued to drill.

"Well, its just … well, you don't look like you're up for it…"Luke was getting uncomfortable with how uptight she seemed to be.

"Well I don't look like I'm up for it cause you're here already and I didn't have time to get pretty…" the harsh words were leaving her mouth a mile a minute and she couldn't stop herself. She knew she was making the situation worse and blowing things completely out of proportion.

_Okay? _Luke pulled out the chair for her, "You okay?"

Lorelai took the invitation to sit, trying to calm down, "Oh yeah, "she dismissed, "just peachy..." she sarcastically shot off, it's_ like we are playing house already, _"Just… a weird day."

"Oh goodie, more tales from the independence inn to fill my night," thinking she was really sorry and was really going to let things go…"

"You don't like my stories?" Lorelai took quick offense… again.

_Oh boy! _"What? No, I mean Yes; I mean… that's not what I meant."

And Lorelai stood again ready to pounce…"Hey man, tact is for people who aren't witty enough to be sarcastic."

"I am very sarcastic…" Luke defended.

"I know it!" she shouted out of nowhere. Lorelai just stared at Luke unable to explain where her mood had come from… _okay I know I'm not pregnant… we haven't… for a while… _

"Lorelai…" Luke was dumbfounded, "Seriously… What's wrong?"

Lorelai took a deep breath, not even knowing why she was taking things out on him, why something told her to spoil this good thing they had and run away. Even if it was time to break up with Luke, Lorelai knew a shouting match wasn't the best way to go about it, she knew he deserved an explanation and that this could be a train wreck if she didn't get a grip, "Oh Luke, I'm so sorry, I'm just… I don't know…" _I Just wish everyone would stop talking about us… if I wanted advice and ridicule I'd visit my mother, _she saw the concern in his eyes, "can we start over?"

"Sure?" and he gave her a hug, not wanting her to snap at him again if he asked about her period. He had a sister… he knew things. "Lorelai you look exhausted."

_Why does he have to be so wonderful, _"I love when men say that to me."

"Seriously, talk to me…"

"Its… nothing… just stupid gossips, we can't go anywhere in town cause everyone is watching with a bucket of popcorn practically. And Miss Patty wants to know when you got that Tattoo, and I don't even know when you got the tattoo really, or how she would have known you had a tattoo cause I didn't tell anyone. And Sookie has me trying different cakes…"

"You like cake," he teased only wanting her to smile again.

"Sure for a birthday party or a midnight snack, not when she wants me to pick one for our wedding?" Lorelai laughed lightly.

"Wedding?" the word surprised Luke.

_AW Crap! That was out loud,_ "ummm yeah, the town practically has our whole wedding planned out and you moved in … all they need to do is con us to showing up at the same place at the same time to spring it on us…" _spring wedding._

"The town wants to ambush us for our own wedding?" maybe it was Lorelai's positive influence on him, but he appreciated the town's confidence in the relationship.

"I know… I mean ... can I have at least have a say in the colors? Or the guest list… or oh yeah if I even want to get married at all…"she sighed finally.

"Oh," and Luke pulled back, _that's what's bothering her._

"What?"

"Nothing…"

True to form Lorelai persisted, "No, you 'Oh'd'… that was a poignant 'Oh'."

"It's nothing… forget it…"

"Luke…?"

Luke sighed, embarrassed to even be bringing it up, "Well, you just said that … you didn't want to get married."

Lorelai didn't understand at first, then, of course it hit her like Mike Tyson, "you are upset that … I may not want to get … married?" _free spirit that I am… _

"Like I said, forget it."

_Oh God… Train Wreck, _"well, I didn't mean… never…"

"Lorelai, its fine." Luke shook his head.

"Luke? It's too soon…to be thinking… _like that_… I mean we've only been going out few months."

"Yeah…I know," he agreed, "it's… too soon to even be thinking like that," Luke said unconvincingly. _Even so... down the line… it might be nice…_ Luke could kick himself for saying anything. He was setting himself up for disappointment and he knew it. He did it with Rachel, had it all planned out… and she left him. What would he do if he lost Lorelai?

"Okay then…" Lorelai hoped they ended on a good note, but Luke just focused on dinner with his back to her, and Lorelai was left with this uncomfortable feeling that she blew the chance of ever getting a second marriage proposal, _yeah, Chris was my first…._ Before Lorelai could apologize or explain her self, Rory came home.

"Mom, Hey, Mom! ... Oh Luke! Good you're here," Rory smiled up at him, "look…" holding up her "dreaded project".

"What's this…?" Luke asked, but he could tell through the cellophane what it was.

"My cake" she smiled proudly, "I made it today at school and I brought it home, or should I say what's left of it," the little girl still beamed, oblivious to the tension between her mom and Luke.

"That's great, Rory" Luke forced himself to look at the girl, and was determined not to meet the stare of his girlfriend, which he could feel boring into him, "Good thing I hadn't made dessert yet."

Rory turned to put the cake on the table; "Mom, Miss Kelly said I was 'much improved'" she quoted.

"That's wonderful, Hon," looking briefly at her daughter, then back to Luke still wondering where they stood and if she could pull him a side and straighten everything out.

Luke decided, "You know what this calls for a real dinner. What do you say we go to Sniffy's? And come back here and have your cake"

"Really, you'll actually eat my cake?" Rory knew what a stickler for a healthy menu Luke was.

"Well you made it right …that's the rule."

"Right that's the Rule, Mom can we go to Sniffy's, please," still wanting confirmation from her legal guardian.

Lorelai really wanted to finish the conversation about wedding cakes, but apparently it would have to wait, "Let's go."

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Rory did most of the talking on the way to Sniffy's, and Maisy enthusiastically greeted the young girl with a hug at the door.

"Hey, there short stuff" the seasoned woman smiled.

"Hey Maisy," Rory liked Bud and Maisy, they were like the fun grandparents she always wanted, not stuffy and strict like the elder Gilmores. Rory heard the rumblings through town, how everyone wanted Luke to propose to Lorelai, so her and Rory would be taken care of. Like most gossip Rory seldom paid attention to it, and it was way too soon to think like that, but still, Rory couldn't help but wonder what would happen to her happy little trio should that particular question ever get asked of her mother. "…I brought you something, Maisy, but you have to share it with Buddy…" and she handed her an extra large piece of the cake.

"Oh if I have too," Maisy teased, "well lookiee here, is this one of those fancy cakes by that Stewart woman?"

"No, I made it."

"Well look out Martha, you'll have your own cooking show you just mind what Luke tells you, okay… I taught him everything he knows."

"Okay."

During this exchange Lorelai and Luke were uncomfortably quiet, but Rory's enthusiasm misdirected old friends from asking questions of the young couple.

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Luke dropped the girls off at their house, after he paid for dinner. Lorelai desperately wanted to take back what she said, but with out the aid of a time machine she knew she couldn't. Lorelai stood on the passenger side window, "Luke, please, come inside, we can talk… when Rory goes to bed."

"No thanks," he said coldly, "I've got deliveries in the morning."

Lorelai knew that wasn't the case, but accepted that as his reason and she took her hand off the truck's door and let him drive away.

Rory watched from the porch, and thought it was strange that her mother hadn't give Luke a good night kiss. "Isn't Luke coming in for cake?"

"No baby," Lorelai tried to hide her sadness "… he has deliveries in the morning…we'll save him a piece."

So Rory shrugged it off when her mother gave her that reassuring smile.

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**A/N: I borrowed from Luvz Story about Luke's tattoo I like that one… ;o)**

**7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
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**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund…**


	20. Who Died And Made You Hailey Mills?

**Insert Strong Bad voice:  
Like a Phoenix, from the ashes **

**...she rises again!**

**HAPPY NEW YEAR!**

**Let's start with a Milestone: DUDE I have like 500 reviews on this story! WOW! I never thought…. DUDE I'm so honored you like me you really like me…**

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)  
Provider of QUALITY FAN FICTION!**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. (JUST GIVE ME A JOB and we will call it even!) **

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: What if LL hooked up when they first met? What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**Luvz: I miss you **

**A/N: Rory Holmes you know like Sherlock Holmes? Famous Detective? Well her name is not Sherlock but she is deductive that way… so we have a nickname Rory Holmes.**

**A/N: For those of you who didn't READ revised 19(SHAME ON YOU!) All I added to the RANT was**

**PS Could Luke have said DAD about 5 more times... I don't think we got he was talking about DADs**

**A/N: Tom and J Stone recently complimented me on my dialogs… and for the record, I'm not CRAZY! But when I write LL stories… I can actually hear the way Lauren and Scott would inflect things as if this was an Actual script… being shot for an actual episode… I hear Luke and Lorelai in my head when I write… I've studied the show for so long… it's second nature now and this chapter the dialogs are quite excellent… I hope you agree!**

**I tell you, I WAS a Gilmore girl before it was fashionable… I've been snarky and sarcastically cute all my life… I could have been Rory (if only I knew they were having auditions! AHEM no small grudge for that!) Or the young Lorelai in season 3… dark curly hair… big blue eyes… I tell ya… this is so my forte…**

**HAPPY NEW YEAR! CRACK WHORES!**

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**Chapter 20:  
Who Died And Made You Hailey Mills?**

As the tension between Luke and Lorelai grew, sightings of the couple together over the next week also grew slim, which raised a red flag to all the gossips in town, and opened an entire new door of speculation and questions.

What happened?

Was there a fight?

Did any one see?

Keep it down here she comes.

Lorelai had plenty to distract her as she threw herself into her work when she became the new concierge of the Independence Inn. Mia surprised Lorelai with the promotion at Carly's baby shower, with a speech conveying that it was long over due, and this was the best opportunity. Lorelai had learned everything she could from Carly and Mia and Lorelai took her new role very seriously. She would remind herself _your only focus is to make the customer right in front of you happy,_ as a way to not think about her jeopardized love life. Lorelai was juggling her new position at the inn, getting personal management training from Mia, prepping for summertime fun with Rory, and trying not to obsess with fixing things with Luke, trying to respect his apparent need for space… but failing.

Lorelai's promotion was bitter sweet without Luke. Sure she was happy, sure she felt she deserved it, and Rory was there to celebrate, praise and idolize; but Lorelai wanted to share the news with Luke, after all the time he's invested listening to her stories of annoying guests.

At that moment they weren't really speaking, that is to say, they weren't speaking about what was really bothering them. Lorelai only wanted to clear the air, even if it was just over the phone. She would carefully and strategically inform Luke of her nights off on his answering machine, she tried openly telling him she had some free time when she "happened" to run into him at the market or diner, that she wanted to spend it with him, but Luke always had an excuse, or said he had inventory in the stock room to count, or had to place an order he had to get out that day.

Lorelai knew he couldn't have been planning to propose when she brought up "the gossips wedding plans" last Saturday, it had only been a few months since they started dating, and they hadn't even had much alone time since Rory found out about them, not that _that_ was all their relationship was based on. They hadn't really had any adult sleepovers since the Lane/Rory sleepovers were on still hold, because Mrs. Kim's sister was in town and Momma Kim wanted Lane to "focus on her school work, end of term very important". Even so, Lorelai would still reach out to Luke, but Luke still withdrew from her invitations.

Truth was Luke didn't know if he could look Lorelai in the eye ever again. He felt embarrassed that Lorelai now knew he was already thinking about marrying her … and well, that she wasn't doing the same about him. From her reaction to the gossips grand scheme, she hadn't even considered it as an option, or even a possible turn of events. So, Luke reverted to his hermit tendencies, but his little "cave" above the diner was that much darker without the Gilmores to brighten it up, and he knew the choice to exclude him self had already cost him.

Luke missed the chance to celebrate Lorelai's surprise promotion with Lorelai and Rory. He missed Rory's last day of school, and how depressed she was now that her schoolwork was at an end. He felt like he was missing precious moments… family memories, and he had to remind him self that they weren't his family, they were just … well, the Gilmores, Lorelai, the girl he had been dating regularly for a little over three months, and her daughter, Rory. Even if only for four months… they felt like so much more to him, he felt it during the sleep over week, introducing them to Bud and Maisy, teaching Rory how to cook. He felt like they were his girls.

Luke only found out about the latest Gilmore news when Rory dropped by the diner during her now free days.

Rory was also surprised that her mother hadn't invited Luke to celebrate her new position. She had picked up clues that Lorelai wasn't telling her everything, and that her mom was wearing a false happy face because of Luke's distance, but Rory couldn't be fooled. Rory was tired of wondering what the diner man was going through without Lorelai; she needed to know if he was at fault for her mother's mood, or if he was just as sad as Lorelai was. So Rory went like any good investigative reporter, to get the facts.

"You never had your piece of cake…" Rory explained as she brought the thoughtful, but stale piece of cake to the diner.

"Thanks Rory…ummm I'll have it tonight," he said politely seeing the white mold spores already forming on one side. Rory settled at the counter, and was thinking of her next question, _did you and mom have a fight? Did you break her heart? Am I supposed to hate you now? _But Luke beat her to the question, "Happy that school's out?" Luke asked, not sure what Rory's reaction would be considering how much she loved school and learning, he did see her a few days ago, sadly leave the building across the square with her head hung down, slowly exiting the walls of knowledge.

"Well, I do like the idea of all this free time, and now I can pick what I want to read… but, I'm still gonna miss going to class and doing experiments… heck, I'm even gonna miss Mrs. Kelly and home ec." she grinned.

Luke couldn't gage how much Lorelai had told Rory from the conversation he had with the tween. He decided to commemorate her summer freedom by treating her to an End of School Sundae, but he figured he'd just act normal and not answer any direct questions involving Lorelai.

However, Luke not talking about Lorelai had only made Rory suspect even more that something was terribly wrong. It was like he was purposefully avoiding mentioning or asking about her mom at all. It had been a week since their last dinner at Sniffy's, five days since Carly's baby shower and Lorelai's promotion, two days since school ended, and one day since Rory's conversation with Luke had confused her.

So that evening, her mind now free from schoolwork, free to analyze the talk of the town and compare it with her own observations, everything finally bugged Rory enough to looked up from her recreational reading and started questioning the one person who had been always honest with her, "Mom?"

"Yeah Hon…" Lorelai answered distracted while looking through the paper, most likely hunting for notice of a shoe sale.

"Are you and Luke…" _broken up,_ Rory almost didn't want to say it, cause that would have made it real, "…fighting?"

"What?" Lorelai tried to blow off the question with a laugh, but deep know she didn't find the situation funny. "What makes you say that?" _Why all the evidence before her Lorelai. DUH! The fact that you never mention him now, the fact that she hasn't seen him here for a week…_

Rory Holmes had struck again, "Well, he's mainly been talking to me for the past week, and he doesn't come over anymore, and you two haven't had a date since we went to Sniffy's…"

_She's been talking to him, _Lorelai then resisted the urge to pressure Rory into telling her every single word that was said. Instead, she took a deep, calming breath, and simply explained, "We are not fighting. We just had … a little misunderstanding."

_That sounds like fighting, _"Aww man," Rory whined and was now even more depressed, _first school ends and now this,_ "you two are gonna break up," she stated sadly, pushing her book away from her, and sulking at the kitchen table, resting her head on her arms. Rory knew it was too good to be true, just like in the movies. _Hello anyone see Love Story! Things were finally going their way and then Jenny had to go and die!_

Lorelai decided then and there, "We are not going to break up." She just didn't know how to explain her apprehension about marriage to Luke or the situation to Rory for that matter, or why exactly she suddenly felt so strange about their situation, or why that inner voice wanted her to ruin everything, cut and run away from possibly the best man she's ever known. Lorelai did know that she didn't want to loose Luke.

"But how can you be together if you won't be together…. or talk to each other," Rory asked.

"Hey, I've been trying" Lorelai defended herself, "believe me, I have, Luke has me on a freeze out. We just … need to have some time … apart," she hated that word, "…to think and sort things out…okay?"

Now with a mission, Rory sprang up from the kitchen table and ran out of the room and up the stairs.

"Where are you going? ... Rory?" and Lorelai followed her daughter curious at her speed.

Upstairs, Rory found her mother's camera, and hit the rewind button, and hoped it would finish before her mother found her. "Come on, come on, come on…"

But Lorelai had found her, "Rory? ... Hey… that's my camera…"

Rory popped out the film and clutched the evidence in her hand.

"Rory that roll was only half used… what are you doing?"

_Half used that you know of… _"I'm going to Lanes," Rory announced abruptly, and bolted for the stairs again.

"With my film?" Lorelai couldn't understand what had gotten into her daughter, was she that upset about Luke's absence or the possibility of a Luke and Lorelai break up that Rory was totally unhinged and flying off the handle, doing inexplicable things?

"I'm going to see it Lane's Aunt and Uncle have found their own place yet."

"What? Why?"

"Sleep over," Rory called on her way out the front door.

Lorelai took in her surroundings again, as if she crossed to another dimension, "What just happened?" Lorelai asked her empty bedroom.

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The next day…

Mia was going over scheduling for the following month, how many rooms were booked, how much staff she'd need, what events were coming up for the dining room, the lawn and the town. Things of interest she could point out to her constant stream of tourist and guests. Then the knock on her open door caught her attention. "Rory?" Mia took off her reading glasses, and was concerned about the serious look Rory wore.

"Hey Mia," the young girl smiled shyly.

"I think your Mother is in the dining room? Helping Sookie set up for…"

"I don't need mom, I need to talk to you."

"Well alright," Mia said sweetly, putting her pen upon the desk, admit ably curious as to what Rory was up to with her free time away from the walls of learning, "have a seat… what can I help you with?"

Rory chewed on one side of her lip for a little bit, an action she had seen her mother do a thousand times when she had a difficult decision to make or was at an impasse. Rory always assumed it was to help her mother think, but right now, during her own predicament, it just plain hurt, "Well, I have a … well, I need a favor."

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After another few days of plotting, Rory and Lane were in Rory's bedroom at the Crap Shack.

"Wow, you can so tell, even with em sleeping, they are soooooo in love," Lane fawned over the pictures Rory had developed from her mother's camera.

"And they are gonna stay that way," Rory said decidedly.

"Didn't you used to hate Luke?"

"Well … no, not really, I mean I hated the idea of my mom dating… and I was naïve enough to think my father would come through… but now… Luke's sorta grown on me, I mean he taught me how to cook… me; the daughter of Lorelai Gilmore can now cook! Besides he makes mom happy, she's never been this happy before… and she's gonna stay that way, too."

"I know but," Lane couldn't believe how risky Rory was being to keep her mom and Luke together, "…should we really be playing the Hailey Mills card."

"Sometimes… you gotta take the big chances," Rory nodded, to steel her nerve, "Okay, do you have your rock?"

Lane pulled the small stone out of her pocket, "I found a nice one in our yard."

"Okay … we have to aim for the same pane… and we have to do it together… I'd feel better doing it together…" Rory winced nervously.

"Sure thing, what are friends for but for … vandalism? That is how we got the phrase 'partners in crime'," Lane smiled.

"Okay, the lower right corner…" Rory instructed as the friends stood together, hand in hand, in front of the bedroom window facing toward the front porch of the house, and Rory counted off, "ready… 1… 2 … 3…"

CRACK!

"Woaw," Lane exclaimed, "That was sooo Cool!"

"I know, very liberating," Rory was surprised to observed "no wonder boys like to break things."

"Dude, the last time I broke something, I was grounded for like a month. Well, it was a vase worth 175 dollars, that's probably why."

"Okay, window broken, Check…"

Everything was on schedule for Rory's plan.

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"Three days?" it was a nightmare for Lorelai.

"Lorelai, you are over reacting," Mia tried to sooth, "this is supposed to be a reward."

"Carly just went on Maternity leave, the computer, which I've named Hal, by the way, hates me, I'm still struggling with the bellhops names and you want me to have three days off… in a row."

"You've been working far too hard lately, and Rory just got out of school, I thought you'd like to spend some time together…"

"We can spend time together here…at the inn, and openly defy child labor laws. Mia, please, I really…"

"Aw you need quality time, she's growing up so fast…before you know it, she'll be dazzling them at Harvard… out there on her own…"

"Mia, really, I appreciate the thought, but I need to work," _To keep my mind off Luke._

"No arguments, you have more than enough Sick Leave to cover… now go."

"Now?"

"Now, I don't want to see you here for three days."

"But really…"

"No ifs, ands, or buts… now shoo, go spend time with Rory…" Mia smiled knowing all the details of Rory's design, all too happy to play her part.

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Lorelai couldn't believe it. _Sent home from work?_ _I'm 28 years old for pity's sake._

She did smile briefly at the sight of home and wondered how she was going to avoid thinking of Luke in a house that now held so many memories of him. A picture he had hung up for her in her bedroom, the stairs that no longer creaked, and the bookshelves in Rory's room. She knew she should just talk to him, really clear the air, to decide once and for all if they were together or not, so they both could escape this limbo and move on.

_Move on_… that is why she never dated before. She hated that feeling of something wonderful coming to an end, but on the other hand she also hated the nervous knots that had been in her stomach for the last week.

As she climbed the porch steps she saw Rory's light was on, and smiled _one on one time with my favorite girl, Mia's orders._

Lorelai came in the house, put down her keys and purse on the floor, "Rory?" she called, "Mommy needs some pizza and movies…" as she kicked off her heels by the door.

Lorelai unbuttoned her new blazer that Mia had bought as a promotion gift, and tossed it on the couch, "Rory?" thinking it strange that her daughter wouldn't answer. So Lorelai went to Rory's room, and almost crashed into Luke as he was trying to leave.

Lorelai's breath caught in her chest, the last person she expected to see, the very person she was trying not to think about was in her house, and she stuttered out, "what are you doing here?"

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Insert dramatic chapter break…

Get up,

Do a dance…

Make a sandwich…

Insert that "I would do anything for Love" Dr. Pepper Commercial (gotta love Meatloaf the artist not the food! You can like the food too if you want…I have a topping sauce that is awesome… sorry you weren't looking for a recipe were you… I turned in to Sookie for a second!)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNDDDD

… we're back…  
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Luke and Lorelai simply stared at each other, for almost a full minute, so Luke cleared his throat, "ummm Rory called me… she said she had a broken window."

"A broken what?" and Lorelai examined the window, but Luke had already replaced the pane, she saw the evidence of his labor with his toolbox and broken glass on the floor.

"Yeah, she said the Banyan boys went by… and they were throwing rocks… or something."

"The Banyan boys are 1 and 3" Lorelai informed him.

"Oh… okay?" Luke didn't even know who the Banyan boys were. He just knew that avoiding her the past week was one of the hardest things he had to do. Sure Lorelai was persistent and still came in the diner; sure she was annoying leaving those messages on his machine, but it was his own fault pushing her away. She looked different to Luke, in her business dress clothes. He had seen her in her maid uniform occasionally, and seen her dressed up before while she was in training, but being close to her again… she looked as beautiful as ever and didn't seem worse for wear with their time apart.

"So… you're here to fix it?" she stated the obvious, uncomfortable under his intense gaze. Lorelai had to take it as a good sign that he was still willing to help out and still wanted to take care of them, despite their misunderstanding.

"Umm yeah... she said she had a sleep over at Lanes, and that you would be working… so… well I just thought I wouldn't disturb you this way… umm what are you doing home any way…?" embarrassed that she caught him in his discreet good deed.

"Oh well, Mia said I was working… too hard." and then Lorelai began to suspect that some trick had been played on her, "Wait, did you say that Rory was at Lane's?"

"Yeah, she let me in, showed me the broken pane and left with Lane about a half hour ago."

"But she didn't get my permission for a sleep over…" Lorelai wondered how they got Mrs. Kim to agree to it. Then she noticed how Luke had kept his right hand behind his back the entire time they were talking, "did you hurt yourself?"

"No."

Not believing him, she tugged on the hidden arm, "oh Luke…" and Lorelai was overwhelmed sympathy for his bleeding hand, and she pulled him haphazardly by his sleeve into the kitchen she began to quickly clean it up at the sink.

"It's fine; it's no big deal… OW"

She had a clean washcloth and was doing her best to be his nurse, "It has to be cleaned"

"Well could you slow down, you're not helping, OW" he complained again.

"I don't like blood okay…"

"Then I'll do it."

But Lorelai refused to let go of his hand, but she did slow down as to not hurt him any more, and she liked how he was standing right behind her. They hadn't been this close in so long, and she stole a whiff of Luke. She couldn't be certain, but she thought he had inhaled slowly too; it could have been that she was hurting him again, or it could have been he was enjoying her perfume. Either way, she took even more care with his wound.

Luke had missed her, he couldn't help himself, being without her was driving him crazy, and he inhaled her jasmine perfume. 6 months ago Luke couldn't name a flower and now he had her scent memorized and burned in his brain. She finished up with the cut and found a band-aid for him. He noticed how she purposely focused on his hand, carefully placed the adhesive strip, like she liked touching and holding his hand again. The task finished Lorelai suddenly turned to him, his blue eyes were all she could see, and without warning she closed the distance between them and kissed him.

"Lorelai?" he mumbled against her lips as he enjoyed the contact, "We have to talk…" 

"No, not yet…" Lorelai pulled him close again, and held him tighter,_ don't spoil it._

"Lorelai…?" But the pain in his hand was forgotten as his arms enveloped her and their lips met hungrily again. He kissed her hard and with all he had and Lorelai savored the moment since it had been so long since they were together, alone, truly alone together and could completely let go of restraint. Soon her hands were in his hair, and his trademark ball cap was on the floor. "Up stairs," she suggested breathlessly, as she was already pulling him in that direction by his collar and his belt.

"Lorelai?"

"Luke… we have the house to our selves," and There was no time for talk. All either could think of was the passion and urgency of that moment. Luke slipped his tongue into her mouth, and they were kissing deeply as they blindly found their way to and up the stairs, hoping they didn't break anything along the way. Luke had one arm around her to keep her close and the other was futilely trying to find their way to her bedroom. After few steps, Lorelai felt the bedroom door against her back, and she blindly fumbled to turn the knob, but had to break their chain of kisses to actually see which way to turn the door handle, and Luke only distracted her all the more as he turned his attention to her neck and decided to torture her that way for a little bit, coxing an impatient moan from Lorelai.

Once inside, Lorelai's subconscious told her it was now safe to start pulling off his clothes, away from where her kid could accidentally walk in on them and be scarred, and away from nosey neighbors noses pressed against her living room windows.

As she quickly unbuttoned his shirt, he unbuttoned her satiny blouse. Some how, with their time apart and her new position, at the inn, he thought she looked even more fantastic as she slipped out of her blouse and skirt. It could have been because it had been a few months since they were alone in this capacity.

As she lay down on the bed, Luke seemed to be committing each of her curves to memory, "well are you just gonna stand there?" not wanting to miss a beat of their progress.

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Let's all go to the lobby,

Let's all go to the lobby,

Let's all go to the lobby … and have our selves a snack!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand

We're back!

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Lorelai was lovingly stroking the bandage on Luke's injured hand … because the band-aid was the only bit of clothing he had on at the moment. Spooning in her bed, Lorelai and Luke were tangled together; "I'm so glad we made up…" she smiled stupidly, having that same giddy feeling from when they first started dating, memories of their second date and first time together in her head. Hoping the grin would be mirrored on his face, she turned toward him, but she saw Luke still seemed hesitant and quiet after being so passionate a few minutes ago. "We did just make up, didn't we?" _That's what this was, right?_ Lorelai was worried that the past 20 minutes had been just for show, afraid that that sex hadn't solved all their problems.

"Lorelai," he was trying to make the situation clear for her, so he blurted out, "… I love you."

"What?" Lorelai would have run away, but since she didn't having any clothes on and she would have looked really silly, that and the words had frozen her to the spot.

"I'm in love with you … okay…" he was almost asking for permission, since she seemed to be afraid of letting him in further.

"Luke," _Heaven help the man who falls for me…_

But Luke cut her off, "No hear me out…" and he sat up in the bed, " I'm sorry if I'm thinking long term about us… but when I think about you or us… that's what I see," he shrugged, "all three of us… you, me, and Rory… and I … I don't know … it nice to think about."

"The three of us?" _as a family?_

"Yeah", Luke was getting flustered, "I know she's your daughter, but you encouraged me to spend time with her and well we are friends now… I guess. I've never done this before okay… I've never… dated a woman with a kid before… I don't know how this is supposed to go… I know how I'd like it to go…but if you don't want this… if you don't see yourself with me in a few months… or years… we should … end it." and Luke was terrified that she'd run like Rachel did.

"Luke," she knew she had to pick her words carefully, "I'm sorry… if I made you think I wasn't happy or …that I didn't see us together for a long time. I just didn't really think about it, it's just… I'm still getting used to this… just like you said you slept in the same room for what… 7 years… well a change takes some getting used to… and I've been alone… just me and Rory for so long… and now, you're here … and willing to fill that void… for me and her…and I wasn't really…looking for that… or expected that from you…but there you were… just doing what came out … naturally." Know what a standup guy he was, " I just… Luke I don't know what came over me. I can't explain why anyone would knowingly push you away." And she took his hand again, "I like us, I do, but… do we have to think of _the future_", she said in a foreboding tone, "right now? Make all these decisions right now? Can't things just stay this way… just for a while? I mean you want me to predict if we get married and have kids… I can't make that guarantee I won't… I don't know what will happen…"

Luke considered her point. He was a few years older, and maybe he was just a little more mature than she was. Was it too much for him to expect her to be ready to settle down like he was? "I can live with that… for now… but Lorelai what's holding you back?"

"I don't know" she shook her head, "I've just been…very self reliant for so long, I've had to be… I've never really let anyone in before… the last time I did… well …"

"Lorelai… I'm not out to hurt you."

"I know that, it's just…"

"I'm not Christopher," Luke clarified, knowing they had only briefly discussed Rory's father because it made both of them uncomfortable.

The phrase stuck Lorelai, like some grand epiphany had hit her upside the head, and suddenly something clicked. Somehow, hearing that phrase from Luke himself made Lorelai consider a new angle to her commitment phobia.

"…You don't have to be on your guard with me… I'm not going to try and hurt you… I'm not… him…"

"I know," she whispered, _I know that…_

"I'm not gonna let you down."

"I know." _Luke is not Christopher._ When she first started dating Luke she kept hearing that phrase from Mia and Sookie. And now, she saw maybe that was the problem her subconscious had with the relationship, the simple fact that Luke wasn't Christopher, but she couldn't analyze that now, it would have to wait and be talked out with Sookie later.

"Lorelai?"

"Hmmm?"

"I thought I lost you for a second there."

"No, no I'm sorry, I just ... are we okay?"

"That depends, are we still dating?"

"Yes, absolutely yes," she smiled broadly, feeling a sense of freedom and lightness now that she had possibly pinpointed the saboteur of her perfect relationship.

"Good, good," And he settled down on his side of the bed and she hugged up against him, not wanting an inch between them.

"Jeez it's only been a week… it feels like for ever…" she mused.

"It's been longer than that," he teased, referring to the gap in their intimate relations.

"We don't do well with out each other…do we?"

"No, we don't" Luke agreed, brushing her hair aside, happy she was seeing things his way for once.

"Well we'll have to make it a point to go out on real adult type dates… balance Rory time… and us time."

"Okay."

Lorelai enjoyed the close quarters, and felt the need to inform him, "Oh, I got a promotion… I'm now the concierge at the Inn."

"I know…Rory told me."

"Yeah... Rory" suddenly remembering her little mischief maker, "I think she played us."

"Oh yeah, completely played us," He agreed at the fantastic circumstances they found themselves in.

"She must have… I don't know broken her window on purpose…"

"Taylor was right, delinquency starts with littering…"

Lorelai had to laugh at that, and then remembered Rory's accomplice, "Oh and Mia… she got Mia in on it too… Mia sent me home just at the right time so I could find you still here…" and she sighed at how clever Rory was, "so… what now?"

"Well, Rory's at a sleep over… and you and I... Well we've have sleepovers before…"

She cuddled with him again, "Hmmmm I've missed our naked sleepovers… I can't even remember… it was before we told Rory, right?"

"Yup… almost three months."

"Wow, so patient, you must really like me to stick around for so long."

Luke played with her hair, "I think I'll keep you," he decided.

"Okay then," she smiled, getting more comfortable with the idea of Luke, "You know… I have three whole days off…"

"Really?"

"Yeah… maybe we could do something… fun? Together?"

"I can think of a few things," and Luke rolled on top of Lorelai with a kiss.

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**A/N: Tom/ J. Stone…. How'd I do?  
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"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke, Tom and J. Stone!  
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**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund...**

**Hello:**

**As for the other 300 or so words I added to 19… like I said I had to polish… so this chapter made sense… and I had to cut down the ellipses… Muffin Is Injuredwas right… there was a RIDICULOUS amount of ellipses in 19… oops, there I go again… GAH ! Stop IT!**

**A/N: of this milestone… this is extra long chapter (originally this would have been like 3 chapters BUT I knew you all would think them too short), think of it as an "Sorry I was slacking but look at how hard I was working to bring you quality fan fiction" type gift … I'm considerate that WAY! And PERSNICKETY THAT WAY! Yes I learned a new word!**


	21. Luke Is Not Christopher

**A/N: Insert Strong Bad voice:  
Like a Phoenix, from the ashes **

**...she rises again!**

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)  
Provider of QUALITY Fan FICTION!**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. (JUST GIVE ME A JOB and we will call it even!) **

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: What if LL hooked up when they first met? What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**Luvz: I miss you **

**A/N: I've lost my beta… AGAIN! So if this sucks I'm sorry.**

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**Chapter 21:  
Luke Is Not Christopher**

The next morning, Rory was almost scared to go home. She didn't know how mad her mom would be at her staying out all night, at an undisclosed location. Rory didn't know if Luke was still at the house when her mom arrived home last night. Rory didn't know if they had a chance to really talk everything out. She didn't know if she'd be grounded for the first time for her little disappearing act, but she figured Luke and Lorelai needed the time alone to resolve whatever the problem was.

Rory stood at the front door with two possibilities before her. Either, Luke and her mom had killed each other; or they'd be making out. Rory kind of hoped it was the latter; at least then her mom would be in a good mood, and she wouldn't have to live with her grandparents.

Rory entered the foyer, nervously clutching he straps of her book bag, but the house was completely silent. "Mom?" she called into the stillness and search the house for any sign of life. She peaked in the living room, nothing. Rory went to the kitchen and poked her head inside of her room and saw that Luke's tools were still on the floor by the window, along with the old broken pane, the new one installed and in place, o_kay, a promising sign,_ knowing Luke always cleaned up from his projects. Rory put her book bag just inside her doorway, and as she turned into the kitchen again, she found Luke's army green ball cap on the floor by the sink. So she tried to call up the stairs again, "mom?"

And suddenly, from upstairs there was a light thudding, almost a bounding sound, and the shining creature that was her mother appeared on the staircase landing, beaming a 100 watt smile, "There's my girl".

_Definitely in a good mood,_ Rory realized. "Hi mom? … How was your night?" noticing Lorelai was only wearing her robe with the roses on it.

Lorelai came down the stairs and hugged her kid, "don't you think for a second that just because you pulled a parent trap that you are not in trouble."

_Sounds like a successfully sprung parent trap, _"Why… whatever do you mean, mother of mine?" Rory batted her young innocent eyes, so unschooled in the art of meddling and mischief.

"First things first… where were you all night?"

"At Lanes."

"For a sleep over…" Lorelai nodded, "and how did you swing that past Mrs. Kim since I never talked with her, and Mrs. Kim wouldn't accept you in the house unless she talked to me and made all the arrangements well in advance."

"Well, we didn't exactly … have either parent's permission."

"Meaning…?"

"Meaning … I climbed up Lane's tree, snuck into her room and spent most of the night in Lane's secret closet with Cervantes and a flash light."

Lorelai had to laugh, "What? Oh Hon," and Lorelai hugged her daughter again for that sacrifice, "At least you didn't have to eat tofu" She spent a night in the closet just so she and Luke could be alone, "You didn't have to do that."

"Well I didn't see any other option, you were in denial, and Luke was in freeze out mode," Rory frantically reasoned trying to preempt the grounding.

_I was in denial… more than you know_, considering the Christopher revelation she had to share and analyze with Sookie before she exploded.

"…I had to do something!" and Rory couldn't stop herself from asking, "So, how _did_ things work out?"

Luke's voice answered her question as he trudged down the staircase, fastening his watch on his wrist. "Hey Lorelai I'm gonna go to the store… you want anything special for breakfast…" and Luke saw Rory was home, "Well if it isn't our little Johnny Hooker, where's Paul Newman?" he wore the same smile as Lorelai.

Rory struggled to remember what movie that name was from, but Lorelai was impressed with the reference, and gave Luke a kiss on the cheek, "I've taught him so well."

"Hey I liked Paul Newman long before I met you."

"Yeah, but you only liked him for his salad dressings… Get it Rory, because he owns a diner!"

"Excuse me, Cool Hand Luke?" gesturing to himself.

"Dirty! Not in front of my kid okay!"

"Aww Jeez" and Luke shook his head, always falling into her verbal traps, as Rory giggled at the pair.

"Anyway bring me something with bacon," she smiled.

Rory glanced at the pair quipping back and forth, glad that they were back to normal.

"Rory? Any requests for breakfast?"

"ummmm I think this calls for Pancakes, to go with Mom's bacon" Rory suggested.

"You got it, see you in a few," And Luke kissed Lorelai goodbye, not even hesitating despite Rory being in the room.

When the door closed Rory practically crashed into her mom with a hug, "you guys made up!"

"Yeah we did," _a couple of times…. DIRTY!_

"Come on I wanna hear all about it!" and Rory excitedly pulled her mom to the couch, "First off, what was the big problem?" having that questing pounding the insides of her head for the last week.

Lorelai really didn't want to get into detail, she was still figuring it out herself, and she didn't want to get Rory's hopes up about Luke and impending Marriage. She was still being cautious and still wanting to take things one month at a time. "All I'm gonna say is … we did talk everything out, we are back to … normal." Cause we really didn't break up, Rory's hopeful eyes compelled Lorelai to give her a little tid bit, "he told me… he loves me."

"Well Duh! What did you say?" Rory was hopping in her seat, her five months of anticipation evident in every fidget, now that the love story before her was finally paying off.

"Well… I told him I cared about him… and that I liked how things were going."

And Rory stopped her bouncing "you didn't tell him you loved him?"

"Well, no?"

"You don't love him?" Rory asked in disbelief, her pitch cracking at the end.

"No I do… that is ... I care about him... a lot and maybe… on my way to … loving him. It's just…"

"Mom," Rory droned again, "Why are you making this so hard? In the movies it's easy…you just say it back…"

"Rory... in real life it's more complicated than that. I want to… mean it…when I say it."

"Well, you said you are on you way... to loving him… isn't' that enough."

"No… Luke deserves more than some one giving him lip service and being polite."

Thinking of Luke's errand to the store and his impending return to make the girls breakfast, "but you two …are still together…"

"Yes"

Rory wanted to be sure she understood the complete situation, "Wait a minute… he said he loved you, you didn't say it back, but you're still together?" usually in the movies, the characters got very upset if those three little words weren't reciprocated and that caused the lovers to go their separate ways till the one who didn't say it went through a ridiculous amount of plot twists and turns to have that realization and then had to go through the trouble of wining their significant back again.

"Well, he's being…very understanding … and he respects my … need for a little more time."

"Wow," Rory was blown away, "he is amazing…"

"I know."

"No mom _he_ is _amazing_… he just lays it all out there for you… and he is willing to have the patience and stay anyway…" Rory continued to marvel at him, "and let's look at it from a practical stand point, he cooks so he can keep you alive, he fixes your car for free, he does light maintenance around the house, and if anything serious did come up he has about a hundred guys from his construction days to assist… so you have a mechanic, a cook, and a contractor all in one Christmas gift pack! Luke is the whole package, he is the _perfect man_." And Rory plopped back on the couch, her point sufficiently made, and shook her head as she slouched, unable to understand what her mother's hold up was to claim the total catch that was Luke Danes.

Lorelai simply stared at her daughter, not expecting the mature insight from a 10 year old. A few months ago she was so against her mother dating, and now not once had Rory mentioned her father. Unable to fill the silence, mother and daughter sat and waited till Luke came in the front door again. Lorelai pondering Christopher's new role if he even had a role, and Rory was wondering what was holding her mother back.

"Well I think the town knows we've made up", Luke announced.

Lorelai looked over her should to her grocery bearing boyfriend, "what makes you say that?"

"Well Miss Patty saw me buying bacon, took that as a clue and ran with it, literally, out the store. I've never seen her move so fast," He laughed, "Hey Rory, could you give me a hand with breakfast," wanting to make up for the lost week, and since he was told by Maisy to teach his young pupil everything he knew.

"I'm on it!" and Rory sprang back to life from the couch, and was in the kitchen helping Luke in a flash, eager to pick up where their friendship had left off too.

Alone in the living room, with the happy clang of pans from the kitchen, Lorelai was left to further consider her daughter's points, and why Chris was still an obstacle for her, still had an invisible hold on her for all these years.

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In the kitchen, Rory pulled her step stool close to the counter so she could help Luke mix the batter and flip the pancakes.

"Hey how do you feel about blueberry pancakes?" Luke asked.

Rory smiled, "heavy on the blue and heavy on the berry!" she had missed cooking and hanging out with Luke. Despite her brief efforts to hate him in the beginning, he was fun, and he made her mom happy, and that was what was important. Luke went out of his way to include Rory and make her feel special, not only working his way into her mother's heart, but her own as well.

Before Rory broke the first egg for the batter, she wanted to make something clear, "Hey Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"I missed you."

"I missed you too kid."

Rory had to hug him, "…And I'm really happy you and mom are back to normal."

"Thanks, me too. And you know what?"

"What?"

"You look taller."

"Thanks, I've gained an inch and a half, I think…"

Luke knew more than anything that Lorelai would be worth the wait, provided that she didn't take 10 years to make up her mind. But for now, they had an understanding; they were on a similar page. Over Breakfast, Lorelai kept hold of his left hand, as if she wanted her actions to show him how invested she was, how sincere she was for them to continue. Truth be told, she was so comfortable with their situation, she was eating breakfast at the kitchen table in only her robe. It didn't seemed to phase Rory, having been used to her mother's habits for 10 years, But Luke was always fully dressed before eating, even as a kid.

Luke was happily catching up with Rory, when he suddenly felt uncomfortable. Unbeknownst to young Rory, who was telling Luke how hard her math final had been, Lorelai had slipped her feet into Luke's lap, causing him immense distraction from Rory's story and his cheeks to redden. As encouraging as that sign was, he didn't think it appropriate for Lorelai to be secretly propositioning him under the table, with her daughter not 5 feet away. Luke chanced a glance at Lorelai, who wore a positively wicked expression on her face. Luke grabbed her ankle to stop her advance, and moved her legs to rest on his lap.

When Rory left the table to clear her plate, "Not in front of your kid okay" he shot back.

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Lorelai knocked on the back door of the kitchen at the Independence Inn. Sookie came and said, "hey you're supposed to be at home, Mia has put a price on your head if anyone sees you."

"Really?" instinctively ducking hoping no one saw her, and Lorelai couldn't help her curiosity, " How much am I worth?"

"A week's vacation, during a holiday weekend!"

"Wow!"

"I know I'm tempted myself."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes, "Et Tu Brute?" her reference out of the way, Lorelai jumped into what she really wanted to talk about, "Have you had your break yet?"

"No"

"Good you are spending it with me…" and Lorelai pulled on Sookie's arm out of the kitchen and to her Jeep.

"Lorelai … I'm in the middle of making lunch, Rafael will kill me… can't this wait…"

"Trust me… it can't!"

"Lorelai…"

"Luke and I made up…"

"Oh My God!"

"I know, now remember Mia loves me and you… trust me… it will be worth it. I need my best friend here."

"Why do you always talk me into things?"

"I'm very persuasive"

Sookie wanted to say no, but getting the first hand dish on Luke and Lorelai was just too tempting. "Constance!" Sookie shouted, making Lorelai wince, "Remember two weeks ago when I saved your soup … you made it too creamy and it was sticking to the sides… well it's payback time, take care of my gnocchi!" Sookie instructed Constance, and she was now free and out the door with Lorelai.

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Lorelai pulled the jeep off to the side of a road.

"Where are we? Deliverance country?" Sookie asked

"No just on the outskirts of town."

The pair of friends started walking on the side of the road, because Lorelai couldn't keep still.

"So, you drag me to the middle of no where, you don't have a murder suicide thing planned do you?"

"No… I just didn't want anyone in town to over hear this."

"Okay, so… what's up?"

Lorelai took a deep breath, "Luke loves me," she still couldn't believe it, " he told me he loves me."

"Oh My God! " Sookie jumped, "what did you say?"

_Why do they always ask that? _"Well I told him…?" she trailed off, suddenly feeling guilty that she didn't feel the same way yet.

Sookie knew off the bat, " you didn't say it?"

"Well, no…"

"Aww Lorelai, come on!"

"Well I want to make sure I mean it…"

"You're telling me that you don't feel anything for Luke?"

"Of course I feel something for him…"

"But you don't love him?"

"Well, these things take time…" _don't they?_

"Are we talking about the same Luke? You know Luke Danes? The one who drops everything to spend time with you, the one who gets along great with your kid, The one who arranged a special movie to be shown on your first date. The one you get jealous over if another woman even looks at him. Oh yeah the one who you've had the greatest sex of your life with!"

"See this is exactly why I didn't want to do this in town." Lorelai said more for her self, finding a ranting Sookie cute and amusing.

"What reason do you have not to tell him how you really feel?" convinced Lorelai was merely in denial of her feelings; the love was there she just refused to acknowledge it.

"Christopher."

Sookie's mouth gaped, "Christopher? You're still in love with Christopher?"_ How can you be in love with Christopher when Luke is the one here?_

"No, not in love, just… well, you know how Rory seemed to secretly hold out hope that Chris and me would work everything out and get back together. Well, I guess on some subconscious level, even more secretly than Rory, I kinda figured or hoped we'd eventually get back together too…"

Sookie sensed that wasn't the end of her friend's thought, "but now?"

"But now …with Luke in the picture, and how great things have been…an dhow MIA Chris has been, I think I'm ready to acknowledge that… secret little wish... and well, let it go. Really let it go."

"Really?" Sookie looked at her friend sternly.

"Yeah, I mean, I guess the young romantic in me would think it was nice 'hey the father of my child and I are together… in love and married'… how crazy is that? But as the years when on… that wish just got buried deeper and deeper… and the 'Woaw it's been ten-eleven years… really?' And now, I mean… I don't want to trap Luke or make him think I'm looking for or want him to be a stepfather… you know, to fill that void. I didn't go on the first date looking for a new daddy," _Even though he is the one thinking of marriage on his own._ "I just need to get used to this. Me and Luke… together… long term…"

"Long term?" Sookie raised an eyebrow.

"Well, Luke … he's a great guy… and well he says when he thinks about us… the three of us… he sees us together… sorta as a family unit…"

"Well that figures."

"It does?"

"Even thought Luke openly talks down about kids, he's always wanted his own. I really thought Rachel and him were gonna get married." _Hey I remembered her name._

"He really loved her huh?"

"Yeah I suppose, but she left town, and he has you now."

"Yeah he definitely has me."

The pair hadn't really paid attention to where they were walking, and were started that there would be what looked like an old house in the middle of the woods.

"Sookie? Where are we?"

"I don't know, I was following you, I thought you were leading"

Lorelai was focused on the building, "what is this place?"

"I don't know…Lorelai?" Sookie's eyes followed Lorelai as she jogged toward the building, as if to introduce her self. Lorelai poked around the fallen in porch, looking for a clue to this structure's history.

"Lorelai come back, it doesn't look safe."

But Lorelai found what she was looking for "here, it's a sign…Dragonfly Inn." and Lorelai took in the sight of the neglected structure around her again. "It's an old Inn." and Lorelai looked at Sookie with almost a crazed look in her eye, and Lorelai started smiling for some unspoken reason.

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"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
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**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant** **option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund...**


	22. Time Heals All Wounds

**A/N: Insert Strong Bad voice:  
Like a Phoenix, from the ashes **

**...she rises again!**

**One Good Milestone deserves another! Can you believe it! Over 600 reviews… for my humble little corner of the fan fiction world! I'm just glad you all like it!**

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)  
Provider of QUALITY Fan FICTION!**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. (JUST GIVE ME A JOB and we will call it even!) **

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: What if LL hooked up when they first met? What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**Luvz: I miss you **

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**Chapter 22:  
Time Heals All Wounds**

Later that same day…(Saturday)

Luke was wiping down the counter, as was his habit when he wasn't busy waiting on a customer. Even though Lorelai had three "whole" days off, that didn't mean Luke could afford to cut out on his business, no matter how much Lorelai tried to persuade him to sleep in with her that morning. Lorelai mentioned some errands she had to do but he had hoped and dreaded that Lorelai would pay an all day visit, to annoy him with her free time and keep him company, especially now that they had made up...again. However, when the door chimes jingled, Luke was surprised to see Mia walk through the door instead.

"Afternoon Lucas," she smiled warmly.

"Hey Mia, it's been awhile since you came here."

"Well, I needed to get out of that damn office," she said flatly. Being too much of a lady to sit at the counter, Mia had her pick of tables and chose a small one by the window, where she could still see Miss Patty's gymnastics class, to watch the children practice their summersaults outdoors.

"Well order whatever you like, on the house," Luke smiled.

"Why thank you, Lucas, I may take you up on that," knowing that she came to the diner strictly on business, "But first, sit down a moment; I want to talk to you."

Mia was like a surrogate mother to him, so he couldn't avoid the feeling he may have done something wrong and Mia had the power to punish him. As he was told he sat across from her in the empty diner and asked, "What's going on?"

"I understand you and Lorelai had a little… misunderstanding… but you have worked things out?… and you are…" Mia seemed to choose her words carefully "… pretty serious with Lorelai."

_Uh oh_, Luke's stomach dropped, he knew Lorelai wasn't on good terms with her parents, but now he was going to have the "you better treat her right" speech from Mia… in the middle of the diner for anyone to walk in on. He had hoped that she strategically chose this time of day to save him the embarrassment of anyone over hearing. "Mia… you've known this for a while," and he wondered if Lorelai had told Mia, and Sookie, and half the town about their different points a view on marriage.

"I know you are quite fond of her…and Rory"

"I love her… both of them."

Mia only took a moment to recover from his honesty, and granted his confession a respectful nod, "all the more reason I speak with you…"

"Mia, I'm not rushing into anything." Luke hunched his shoulders forward, the way he used to when he got a lecture from his father; the weight of the old man's disappointment seemed to weigh them down.

"Luke I want you to have a full picture. Lorelai is a very special, very unique young woman"

"I know that…" he said shyly, he imagined that this is what a conversation would have been like with his own mother, had she lived.

"What has Lorelai told you about her family? Her parent's I mean."

Luke and a gut feeling he'd have to discuss Christopher in a minute too, "Nothing really," Luke shrugged, "she's not that close with them cause of the whole … getting pregnant thing…" and he sort of tripped up on the "p" word.

"Luke, maybe you should start asking about her family… get more of the details."

"What does that matter? We're just two people who… like to spend time together…and we're taking it slow any way," he defended, though he'd marry Lorelai tomorrow if only she'd say the word.

"It matters more than you know, where she comes from doesn't matter to her, but it's everything to her parents. She's made a different life for herself, a life she likes, away from that world… even though she may have removed herself from her former environment, it will always be apart of her, her parents will always want a connection with her and Rory, and if things continue… consequently to you." _whether they like it or not._

Luke didn't know if Mia was trying to disclose that Lorelai was in fact an Alien as he had long suspected in jest, "Mia? What are you saying?"

"Did you know she was from Hartford?"

"Yes,"

"You know how young she was when she had Rory."

"Yeah," Luke thought he'd show Mia how smart he was, "and that's the reason she's not on good terms with her parents."

Mia could see this approach was only agitating Luke, so she softened her tone, "Do you remember when I used go with you to see your dad, when he was in the hospital?"

"Yeah?" confused by the change in subject.

"Lorelai's grandparents built half of that hospital."

"What?"

"Her last name is Gilmore, they are a wealthy philanthropic family from the better half of Hartford," Mia said with a hint of sarcasm, "…though I suspect their good intentions go as far as the impression they make in the society section of the paper. They are snobs, Lucas, and I'm not sure how they are going to feel once they find out their only daughter is dating a humble self made diner owner, and that he is the only male role model in their grand daughter's life."

Luke leaned back against the window; it just didn't make sense to him. He tried to recall Lorelai's confession about Rory, and wondered if there was a subtle clue there, and he remembered was _"Rory was my daughter … I wasn't going to have her raised in that house with my mother and party dresses or cotillion …to do what she wanted, not what was expected of her out of family obligation or just because everyone else had done it for years before her". _So Lorelai was the society set's black sheep. Lorelai wasn't a snob, sure sometimes she liked things a particular way, but that was only because of her quirks, or the rules of movie night, or when she named one of her appliances. Lorelai was pizza rolls, not caviar, she was burgers and fries, not halibut and asparagus, "but… she's such sales hound… and barely gets her bills out on time…"

"She doesn't want any of their money, she's too proud, and she wants everything on her own terms… including you."

That seemed like a loaded statement, if Lorelai wanted everything on her own terms, maybe he'd have to wait till she proposed to him, "did she tell you? What we talked about?"

"Not a word to me, I know you had a disagreement of some sort, and worked it out. Oh, Luke, I've known you since you were a boy, the way you look at Lorelai is the same way you used to look at Rachel, and I think I had pretty clear understanding of your intentions then." Luke was embarrassed and habitually rubbed the back of his neck, regretting the assumptions he had made with Rachel. Mia continued, "Now you may not like it Lucas, but I want you to be prepared. It's a package deal, if you get Lorelai you get the daughter as well … and the grand parents, and maybe once in a blue moon the absentee father." Mia took a moment, and examined her surrogate son, and smiled, watched as he absorbed the new details of his girlfriend. Mia hopefully added, "If in the future, you feel you need your mother's ring again," Mia smiled, " just ask. It's still in the safety deposit box."

"Thanks Mia" he half smiled.

Mia reached across the table, and placed her hand on his shell shocked one, "You're a good one, Lucas, and if it means anything, you two have _my_ blessing. I've never seen Lorelai as happy as she is when she's with you."

As if on cue, Lorelai quite exploded through the diner "Luke, Luke… Oh there you are Oh, hey Mia," and she forced a nervous smile, forced herself to calm her excitement, not sure how Mia would react to her latest brilliant idea and future competition.

"Hello Lorelai," Mia grinned at the typical display from her favorite employee, "enjoying your days off I see."

"I haven't been to the inn I swear," _way to go Gilmore!_ Lorelai winced, having just dropped off Sookie there.

"Oh I know, I have my little network of spies. You know I really didn't get to take you out to lunch with your promotion… and since this is your favorite place in town an di know you don't have to work, would you like to join me now? Unless of course, you have something pressing to share with Lucas?" giving Luke the eye.

Luke chimed in, "yeah, is it Rory?" jumping straight for the worst-case scenario.

"No, no, Rory's fine… ummm actually it can wait. I practically ran here and you know how I hate exercise so I'll need a burger with extra cheese and bacon…"

"That sounds divine, make that two." Mia smiled.

Luke shook his head, "you both are gonna kill yourselves…"

"Fat and Happy," Lorelai smiled, "Ummm Actually can I borrow _Lucas_ for just one minute, there is one thing that I need."

Mia raised her hands, "Certainly, I'm not one to keep the love birds apart"

Lorelai pulled Luke behind the curtain that lead to his apartment, at the base of the stairs, before Luke could ask her "what's up"; she had cut off his words.

"Lorel…"

Her arms were around him in a flash and she gave him a kiss to remember. It didn't take long for Luke to get the message and press Lorelai against the back wall. Lorelai could have undressed him right there, but with Mia only a few feet away beyond the wall, she knew that wasn't a good idea. It seemed to last forever, but not long enough at the same time. When need for oxygen was pressing, they both had to pull away.

"You wanted to tell me something?" Luke panted.

"That's all I wanted to say for now," Lorelai mischievously smiled, truly excited for the first time at what their future held, a future with a possible new business and a long future in mind with Luke.

"We'll continue this later…" he promised.

Lorelai gave him another quick peck before returning to Mia's table, "Get Frying, Burger Boy!"

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The next day, Sunday, Luke prepared a picnic lunch as instructed by Lorelai. Rory was his helper, as always, she made sure all Tupperware lids were secure, and the sandwiches were wrapped tight. "Do you know where we are going?" Rory asked Luke… again.

"No idea, I just do as I'm told."

"And you are very good at it" Rory complimented with a nod, as she played with one of her braided pigtails now that her task was completed.

"Thank you," Luke smiled. "Okay we got water and soda, salad I know your mother won't eat," that comment got a giggle from Rory, "Sandwiches and snacks…"

Lorelai came in with her usual burst of energy and enthusiasm, "We all ready."

"Yes, but where are we going? "Rory begged unable to stand the suspense.

"And ruin the surprise? Never!"

The trio piled into her jeep with their picnic lunch, because Lorelai insisted on driving, because only she knew where to go. After only a 10-minute drive out of town, Lorelai pulled up a dirt road and parked her jeep near a disheveled building to which Rory exclaimed, "COOL!" going to some place new, and Luke muttered "what the?"

The three exited the vehicle, and Lorelai smiled as she saw the first reactions on the faces of the two people closest to her, and she introduced, "I give you the Dragonfly Inn." she watched them for another moment, and then laid out the blanket for a prime view of the Inn.

"Lorelai what are we doing here?" Luke had to know as he got the food out of the jeep.

Lorelai made herself comfortable on the blanket, "Well I thought that maybe… one day… I'd open my own Inn… with Sookie…"

Luke sat on the ground with her, even though he hated the idea of eating off the ground "What?"

Lorelai shrugged, "Well, you wanted me to start thinking about the future? And I think … I want to buy this place … fix it up… and open my own Inn, I'll manage, Sookie could be the chef..."

"Cool!" the plan and prospect excited Rory, not only was her mother now second to the boss, but she was thinking beyond the Independence Inn and would be just like Mia one day, minus the vintage blue coat, "Mom, can I look around?"

"Sure baby, take a sandwich, but stay where I can see you…"

Rory took the sandwich from her mother and ran off to explore the ruins, playing make believe that she would be writing a story for the New York Times, on the history of this place, and she was off looking for clues.

Luke stared after Rory, protectively watching, making sure she wouldn't get hurt. "When did you think of this?" he asked Lorelai.

Lorelai laid down on the blanket, propped up on her elbows, thinking of what colors she wanted to paint the outside of the Inn, _My Inn_ "Well, I was thinking about what you said …that you wanted a real future with me and Rory, and well, I never really thought of the future before… you know like for myself. I mean when I was 16 I was supposed to go to an Ivy League school to graduate to do …God knows what… according to my mother, I really didn't have a say back then. And now… I'm an adult, and an idea sparked in my head… I have a goal, … something to work toward… an opportunity to make you proud." She smiled, "We could both be upstanding business owners contributing to the community, play footsy at the business owners' association meetings… "

_I'm going to let go of Christopher… and focus on you._

Luke knew she was a fly by the seat of her pants, kinda girl, very spur of the moment all the time… but this was border line on nutty, not to mention out of character. Luke picked up the hints of her background and took Mia's advice, "What about your parents?" he asked directly.

"What about them?"

"Won't they be proud? Don't you think they'd want to know their daughter owns a business? Is an upstanding citizen?" And Luke made it a point to pay close attention to the way she talked about her parents.

Lorelai stared at the old inn intently, "Oh this would be beneath Richard and Emily, they wouldn't even stay at a place like this much less come to see it, even if I ran it… maybe that's part of it's appeal… I mean sure my dad has worked for the same firm for years and years, but this is like blue collar work to them. You should have seen their faces the first Christmas I came to visit with Rory, after I … ran away … I told them I got a job, '_really Lorelai what job?_'" Lorelai had changed her voice to tell Luke that this was an impression of Emily. Lorelai's eyes seemed to fog over, as is she was back there, in that house, in that moment with her snobby mother. "Well mom, I'm a maid …at an Inn, _'Really Lorelai, that is fascinating with all your brains and talent you are the one who scrubs the commode, tell me how many commodes do you scrub a day you think_?' well mom I guess all of them, '_Really? All of them? You must get up very early in the morning_.'" Lorelai broke her character, for the comfort of sarcasm "trust me she was thrilled, her grand ideal plan for me to … I don't know, take over the D.A.R. sufficiently foiled so I could be a pillow mint fairy…"

Her candid way of speaking about them seemed to tell Luke that if he wanted to know anything, all he had to do was ask. Seeing her so relaxed on the blanket something seemed different about her, like she was at peace with their relationship. His honesty the other night scored him points, and now she was really considering the future… even though she said she wanted to take things as they came.

Luke could tell to talk about that period of time was painful for her, and he took Lorelai's hand. And she smiled up at him, her eyes refocused on the present and her exciting future, "but now… thanks to you mister, my muse, my little inspiration… I have my own plan."

"Me?" figuring she was giving him way too much credit for her idea.

"Yeah… you keep telling me all those perks about owning your own business, and I made a mental note to own my own business one day, and you know I really can be bossy cause I learned from the best… my mother!... and here we are…I finally got around to that little mental post it! … you know how cluttered my brain can be."

"Yeah I know…" in the sunshine she was beautiful, and Luke leaned down to kiss her, which she happily accepted given their romantic locale. She slowly laid down further, and cupped his face to keep him close. It was a perfect moment, a romantic picnic, making out with her handsome boyfriend in the middle of the woods, her daughter exploring the Inn property giving them just a little privacy. Lorelai was getting comfortable with the rhythm of their pecks, and having thoughts of bringing Luke up to this location for an adult alone type date, and the thought made Lorelai smile through the kiss.

Luke only pulled away, and Lorelai could see the absolute love in his eyes, and liked the idea of having him look at her that same when she opened her Inn. She played with his curls that peeked out of his ball cap as he asked, "What's the DAR?"

Lorelai only giggled, "shut up" and pulled him in again.

Then suddenly, their moment was cut short with a shriek from inside the Inn's structure, and both Luke and Lorelai sat up on the blanket, and their heads shot toward the building. Neither saw Lorelai's pigtailed counterpart, "Rory" they said in unison, and they sprang up off the ground and they raced toward the Inn together.

Luke was first inside, practically pulling the ancient door off its hinges with superhuman strength. Lorelai was close behind him, and in the darkness they found Rory on the staircase, her leg had fallen though one of the stairs. With the light flooding in the front door, they could see tears streams glistening down her face, her eyes filled with pain, "I'm stuck," she squeaked, haphazardly grasping the broken banister.

"Its okay, Rory we're here," and Luke carefully went up the stairs. If it buckled under little Rory, the whole place might come down with his weight. With her hair braided in pigtails and her lean leg disappearing into the stair, she looked even younger, smaller even though her eyes were huge and scared. He looked Rory in the eye, "okay we are gonna get you out, I want you to push on my shoulders, okay? It may hurt… but I'm gonna guide your leg out. Okay?"

"Okay" Rory sniffled.

Lorelai was frozen to the spot, unable to help; her child was hurt, in danger, and there was nothing she could do. She could hear her mother's voice scolding_ why weren't you watching her,_ and Lorelai watched in awe as Luke took charge of the situation.

"Okay Rory … on three I want you to push on my shoulders, One… two… three."

Rory gasped as pain shot through her leg, and it came free of the staircase, and fresh tears came town her face, her arms automatically wrapped tight around Luke's neck, clinging to her hero for dear life.

"Lorelai…Lorelai?" Luke was trying to get his girlfriend's attention.

"Wha?" Lorelai snapped out of her trance.

"Get some of the water bottles." And Luke carried Rory out of the inn with the ease of a fireman.

"Right," she said distantly, and Lorelai ran ahead to the picnic blanket and got the water out of the basket, twisted off the cap, and waited to hand it to Luke as he set Rory down on their picnic area.

"There should be some napkins in there too…" and Luke opened the bottle and poured the water to clean the wound.

"It hurts," Rory winced, pulling up her shorts cuff to not get wet.

"I know…" And Luke took the napkins from Lorelai; he cleaned away the blood, and checked for splinters in the bright noontime sun. "It will be all right. I think we should head home and get a real bandage on this…"

"Okay," Lorelai agreed, and unconsciously grabbed their picnic supplies. As she stood up, she froze again, and took one long last look at the inn that hurt her child unsure of what that meant.

"Lorelai let's go," Luke called overseeing Rory buckling herself in the back seat.

Lorelai threw the stuff in the back, and climbed in the back seat with Rory to hold pressure on her knee and stop the bleeding.

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The ride home was quiet, except for a few sniffles from Rory, and Luke drove as quickly and safely as he could. Once home safe in Rory's room, Lorelai could only watch, biting her nails, as Luke tended to her daughter's injury, while Rory tried to relax on her bed.

"Lorelai could you get the first aid kit…"

"I don't have a first aid kit..." Lorelai was unprepared, and could hear her mother's scolding again, _Honestly Lorelai…in 11 years as a parent you never bought a first aid kit?_

"Yes you do," Luke eased, "I snuck one in here a few months ago…"

"It's in the hall closet," Rory informed.

Lorelai saw the knowing glance Luke and Rory shared, no doubt smiling at how they snuck it past Lorelai those few months ago, and how she never saw in all that time. She thought if funny that the two of them had their little secret, and she wondered what other things they shared, she had to smile at their unique bond.

Lorelai found the large plastic case, and smiled as Rory found relief when Luke properly cleaned and dressed her wound with a large band-aid from the first aid kit he had snuck in the house.

"That stings!" Rory grimaced and hissed as Luke swabbed her knee with alcohol pad.

"I know… I'm sorry,"

"Will I have a scar? How am I gonna were dresses?"

"You won't have a scar… if you want I'll see what I can get for you at the drug store." Seeing the frown still on her face, "Here, you wanna change mine?" and Luke offered his injured hand, the hand he cut when changing her windowpane.

Rory had a half smile as she got to be Luke's nurse too. She made sure she used an alcohol pad too, "I've got to clean it," she insisted. From the corner of her eye, Rory saw how worried her mother was, practically chewing off her hand. "Mom, I'm sorry I ruined your picnic."

And Lorelai came round to the other side of the bed, and hugged her daughter "No Sweets, I'm sorry that mean old inn hurt you," she kissed her daughter's forehead, "if that's the first impression it makes on my kid… well I may have to rethink about buying it… won't I?"

"No! Don't do that!..." Rory didn't want her mother to give up her new dream cause she only scarped her knee, "it wasn't structurally sound… and you are going to fix it up anyway… how about we get an exorcist! Like that nice Indian shaman from the second poltergeist movie … or an evangelist… 'Evil demons, be GONE!'" Rory did her best preacher voice to make her mom smile and ease her concern, _I'm still Rory… I'm still okay._

And Lorelai smiled… "We'll see…"

"Okay," Luke interrupted, "why don't you take it easy?" Luke suggested to Rory, patting the uninjured knee of his favorite 11 year old.

"Luke!" Rory Droned, "I feel fine… all cleaned and covered…."

"Just for a half hour? Okay?"

"Okay" Rory folded her arms, and considered how much pampering she could milk out of this after all she was her mother's daughter.

"You want a book?"

"Ummm the picture of Dorian Gray… it's on my book list for next year."

Luke found it on the "books I haven't read yet" shelf, and handed it too her, smiling that even though it was summer vacation, she still missed school more than anything, and that she had already bought next years books.

"Okay we'll see you later," Lorelai smiled and made a quick exit.

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As Luke closed the door of Rory's room, he could tell Lorelai needed some comforting too, "Lorelai?"

Lorelai had braced herself against the kitchen sink, stared at the kitchen table, was shaking her head and biting her lip, "It's a sign."

"What?" Luke's brow furrowed under his ball cap, trying to see where she was going?

"It's a sign;" she was trying to hold back tears, "I'm not supposed to strike out on my own, I'm not supposed to own my own business."

"It's a sign that we should have paid closer attention to Rory," as he came closer and took her into a hug, _instead of making out in the woods._

"Exactly I'm a horrible mother, what damage could I do to my own business if I can't even look after my only daughter," she said with self-pity into his shoulder. "Hell there are women out there with four kids, and they are so frazzled and crazy that one is always missing."

"Lorelai, you are making a big deal out of nothing… kids scrap their knees all the time."

"Not my kid. And what did I do… huh? I just froze… I just freeze up when she needs me the most? When she is in pain and trapped with that place ready to fall in on top of her… how could I live with myself… if anything happened to her? And what am I gonna do when she's old enough to drive a car… and gets into an accident."

"Lorelai…"

"I couldn't even help her… I was just so caught off guard."

"Hey you can't plan for everything," Luke reasoned.

"I didn't even have a first aid kit… in the car… or in the house… and I was just soo… stupid and … I couldn't even put a band aid on her… I couldn't even comfort her..."

"You don't like blood, so I did it. It's fine…"

"And you…." Almost like she was gonna turn against him too.

"Me?" _what did I do?_

"You…"and her voice finally softened, "… were so calm and level headed… and wonderful…" and that strong feeling of affection for Luke grew inside Lorelai's chest again, "She could have lost her leg… and you saved her…" she couldn't help but cry.

"I just got her out from being stuck…"

"And humble too… and still wonderful…" her arms wrapped around his neck. "What would have happened if you weren't there?"

"You would have snapped out of it and helped her yourself…" he rubbed the sides of her arms, "and maybe it's a sign…that… it's not supposed to happen yet? That you need to step back and plan… maybe not next week… but in a few years…save some money …who knows…"

"Yeah who knows," she smiled as she pulled back slowly. Thinking every single thought she had in the last three days all at once. That Luke wasn't Christopher, that it was okay to think of a future with Luke, it was okay to explore all her options and have a dream of her own. And she knew the weight of the compliment she was about to bestow, "You were really great with her…" she rubbed her hands on his chest.

"Thanks"

Lorelai focused on the buttons of his shirt, "very… fatherly…"

"Lorelai…" he didn't want her to think he was trying too hard. " I didn't mean to …" _over step my bounds._

"Ssssshhh…" and she put her hand on his lips, "just take the compliment…Okay?" and rested her head on his chest, in the comfort and warmth of his arms.

And his words from the Inn echoed, _I think we should head home,_ he said it with out realizing it… he had said it because the Gilmore house was slowly becoming his house too; the Gilmore girls were already his home.

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**"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
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**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund...**


	23. Just Like A Dad

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)  
Provider of QUALITY Fan FICTION!**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. (JUST GIVE ME A JOB and we will call it even!) **

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: What if LL hooked up when they first met? What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**Luvz: I miss you  
CRACK WHORES: for an explanation of "AT MY WITS END!", as it came to be known, please look in reviews, if you care to know what happened!**

**FEATURING BETA: localizy, this girl can read at like 200 WPM … I just want to put her on display and sell tickets! BABY, you're the GREATEST!**

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**Chapter 23:  
Just Like A Dad **

Even though Luke hated hospitals and since it was Lorelai last mandatory day off on Monday, Luke insisted that they take Rory to the hospital the next morning, but only after he made a special breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes for the patient and still slightly distraught mother. Rory got a quick x-ray to make sure that she was really okay, but Luke did mutter something to the extent of exposing kids to undo radiation. The health care professionals suggested some pain reliever and a reduction in any strenuous physical activity for the next week. Luke had to laugh at the nurse, "Man, you really don't know these two, do you?"

Considering the warm weather the typical fashion was shorts, so there were questions around town about Rory's bandage over the next few days. The trio all stuck to the story and told the concerned townies that Rory skinned her knee when she tripped on the front porch, and the townies were amazed that such an event went unnoticed with Babette living just next door.

Lorelai didn't want to call attention to the old ruins of the Dragonfly, for fear that would generate interest in the old place, and she wanted it for herself and Sookie. She was especially terrified that if Taylor Doose discovered the vacant location, he would instantly have designs of his own for the place, as he seemed to be slowly buying up Stars Hollow like Mr. Potter in Bedford Falls.

Overall, Luke felt he was going to enjoy his summer with the Gilmore girls. They planned on spending some afternoons at the lake, looking forward to what Movie themes Kirk would come up with at the Black White and Read bookstore, and Rory was already excited about the Fourth of July fireworks. Rory would trade afternoons between the Inn, helping her mother and Mia, spending time at the diner, reading at the counter or helping Luke, or hanging out with Lane, if Mrs. Kim was in a giving mood.

The mystery of the Dragonfly became Lorelai's new obsession. Lorelai would help Sookie with the research on the old inn after work. She was just curious and still in the early planning stages, she knew she couldn't afford an inn of her own yet, she was still only _starting_ to save for Rory and Harvard, _can you say Financial Aid_. Even so, now that a location was in mind for "their" Inn, ideas came a mile a minute and the two future business partners were in daydreaming heaven, which meant more quality time for Luke and Rory to spend together at the diner.

If Lorelai was busy researching, Rory was content to hang out with Luke at the diner, or with Lane doing whatever. Luke and Rory also took the opportunities to stock the Gilmore kitchen and prepare for more cooking lessons as a way to fill Rory's free summer time and give her eyes a break from next year's book list and reading. On Thursday, while they wandered the isles of Doose's.

"Rory how's your leg?"

"Its fine, but I do need more bandages."

Luke made a mental note to add the requested item to the basket when they went down the appropriate aisle, _and some pain reliever too… just in case._

Then Rory asked, "Hey Luke… you wanna pick the movies this week?"

"Why?" as he grabbed a loaf of bread for their basket.

"Well you never get to pick and mom's so busy with her inn planning, she hasn't thought of a theme for this week, so I say you pick and she will have to like it… or make fun of it," she added with a shrug.

"We'll see what they have," Luke smiled, but then Rory gave a mighty sneeze from out of nowhere. "Bless you," _sure she avoids a cave in and now she gets a cold?_

"Luke, can I have a tissue," Rory asked, feeling self-conscious about having runny nose in public.

"Ummm, I don't have one…"

"There goes your Boy Scout title, what about a handkerchief?"

Luke thought the idea of a handkerchief in his flannel pocket sounded funny, "Who am I, Walter Rolly?" and Luke opened a fresh box of tissues from the shelf, handed Rory one, "Here …" and he added the tainted merchandise to their basket, "You feeling okay?"

"Aww I think its just allergies from our picnic… my nose is all stuffed up and gross."

"You didn't catch a cold when you went swimming the other day did you?"

"I don't think so…"

"You know, you're hanging out with a lot of different kids, who only import disease each time they go in and out of the house, and then contaminate you by extension."

"Luke, you are gonna make me a hypochondriac and I'll never have a social life."

Luke was impressed that she knew the word "hypochondriac", but still took her down the cold medicine aisle, thinking he'd save himself a trip. "What does your mom usually buy?"

Never one to complain, Rory insisted "Luke I'm fine… all I need are the tissues… really" and so he wouldn't worry she added, "mom and I don't usually get sick."

This fact surprised Luke. "With all the junk food you two eat?" _It's any wonder that your immune systems aren't shot to hell._ "All right, but if you get any worse you let me or your mom know, okay?"

"Okay?" Rory agreed, pleased that he was concerned for her well being, _almost like a dad,_ Rory knew it was dangerous to get her hopes up like that, but giving Luke the benefit of the doubt, he had yet to disappoint. With a huge smile on her face Rory took Luke's hand in hers, for all of Doose's customers to see, and pulled him toward the frozen foods to get some ice cream, since it was summer and ice cream is a staple summertime food and thusly a must have, and Luke had no choice but to follow and obey.

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Lorelai came home Friday evening and found her two favorite people already cooking dinner in the kitchen.

"Hey baby," and she greeted her daughter with a kiss on the cheek, "hey baby" Lorelai repeated, greeting her boyfriend with a kiss on the lips. "Wow, something smells crazy good…"

Luke decided to inform his girlfriend, "We had a major accomplishment today."

_Me too, you first…_Lorelai was instantly hooked and gasped "Really? What?"

"Rory… made up her first recipe," and Luke couldn't help but beam with pride.

"No way! What'd you make, Sweets?" trying to peek over her daughter's shoulder at what was in the pan.

"Okay…" and Rory was proud to introduce her mother to her creation, "Well I know you love tacos… when Luke and I went to the store I was inspired…. So I browned the meat… and drained it of the fat, of course… and then I added a seasoning packet and some vegetables to it, you know, corn, green peppers, onions and stuff, and when we were at the store… I saw a bag of Fritos… and I thought… 'Hey why not put the taco shells… in the meat… instead of the meat… in the taco shells,'" she explained slowly so the idea would come across properly.

"Inspiration hits in the most unexpected places," and Lorelai marveled at her daughter's new talent, _to think a child of mine… cooking,_ and Lorelai shared a proud smile with Luke.

Rory mocked humility, and said with a shrug "I don't know how I do it. Anyway, I'm going to add the corn chips for a little crunch, throw on some cheese, and I give you tacos ala Rory…. but it needs a better name," Rory admitted shyly.

Lorelai considered for a moment, "how about… Rorio Tacio Supremo?"

Rory's brow furrowed a bit, "I think we'll work on it…" she said with a giggle. "You want to try some?"

"Of course… it's got corn chips and beef… mommy happy!"

"…And cheese," Rory enticed.

"Mommy happier!" and Lorelai went to hang up her coat and go through the mail.

Luke leaned down and whispered to his apt pupil, "nice move, not telling her you used ground turkey."

"Well hello, I want her to try it first." that was one of many things Rory learned from Luke, how to sneak healthy food into her mother's "it has to taste good" diet so she'd live an extra long time. Rory added the special touch of corn chips to the seasoned meat with a "momma didn't raise no fool," to her cooking teacher.

Lorelai came back into the kitchen, sighing with satisfaction, "Well, you guys aren't the only ones to have a productive day" Lorelai had news of her own, "You are never gonna guess who owns the Dragonfly…"

"It's not Taylor is it?" and Luke dreaded the challenge of getting the inn out of the megalomaniac's grasp.

"No," Lorelai was happy to inform, "It's Fran from Weston's."

"Sweet Fran?" Rory inquired, "You are sooooo gonna get it! She loves you…"

"Well we're not ready to make an offer yet…" _like not for a few years…_

"Unless…" and the wheels in Rory's head started to turn again, "she holds it against you for not going to her bakery anymore… since you and Luke have been dating… oh no … Luke is her competition…what if she decides to sell the Inn to someone else because…"

"Rory… it will be alright… we can go this week to Weston's if you want to help improve my chances…"

Rory was seeking permission from Luke, "Is that okay Luke? If we go to Weston's? Just once in a while…"

"Of course, I'm not the diner Gestapo keeping you from eating anywhere else…" he had to laugh at how Rory didn't want to offend him or Fran… or anyone for that matter.

"Okay then, let's eat…" Rory's dinner was ready, but she was already thinking of which cake she was going to try when they visited Fran. Since it was movie night, Rory went to set up Luke's first movie pick, _Force 10 From Navarone_, "Luke would you sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top, Oh…and don't forget the sour cream!" _Mom needs her calcium._

"Okay" Luke was happy to be given a job since he had only been in an advisory capacity for the last 45 minutes while Rory insisted on cooking by herself… but if the flames got too high, only then he could come in and save the day. Needless to say, she did fine.

When Rory was out of the room, Lorelai sidled up beside Luke, "hey Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"I was thinking… we never really went on a … official…alone…make up date… could we… do that tomorrow night?"

Picking up on her more intimate tone, Luke cleared his throat "Ummm sure?" apparently having sex the night of their make up wasn't enough for Lorelai, she wanted to follow procedure and have another real date… no doubt with more make up sex. "Any thoughts… on where you want to go?"

"I have a few…in mind" thinking of the old Inn as a possible romantic location, despite its attack on her daughter barely a week ago._ Miss Patty would be so proud._

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Our happy trio was in the living room of the Gilmore home; Luke and Lorelai were cuddled up on one end of the couch and Rory was sitting Indian style and squirming excitedly on the other end. "Oh My Gosh, that lady is a double agent! A Girl with a Gun, that's awesome!" then her excitement was pulled back a moment… "That's a funny line… 'do you expect me to go back with my hair combed'…why does she want Harrison Ford to hit her?"

Luke explained, "So Schroeder won't know she's a spy…"

Lorelai elbowed Luke, "will both of you shush" then she asked her daughter "and you stop fidgeting, it's distracting me from the movie."

"I'm not fidgeting…I'm itching…" Rory defended, as she craned her arm behind her to get low below the neckline of her shirt.

"We need more popcorn anyway…" and Luke got up to refill the bowl.

"Luke," Lorelai scoffed, mad that her pillow was leaving, "You are gonna ruin the flow of the movie!" but he still left, and she called after him, "Ummm I hope you know we aren't gonna rewind Buddy… you're gonna miss stuff and be lost…"

"You're missing stuff while you are yelling at me… and I've seen this one before…" Luke shot back.

"Rats… why did you let him pick the movie?" then seeing the struggle her daughter was going through on her end of the couch, Lorelai asked, "What's with you?"

"Nothing… just my unbearably dry skin… probably from when I went swimming with Lane the other day…"

"Mrs. Kim let Lane out of the house with a bathing suit? I thought swimming in the same lake as boys sent you to hell?"

"Well Lane wore a t-shirt over her suit… till we got to the lake of course…and we told Mrs. Kim that the boys were playing basket ball…"

"Smart girl…" then it hit Lorelai, "Oh God… you didn't get poison oak when we went on that picnic, did you?" hearing Emily's voice in her head again…_ Lorelai really, you didn't prepare for poison oak?_

"If anyone could have gotten poison oak it's you and your boyfriend," Rory teased, referring to Luke and Lorelai practically rolling around on the ground during their picnic.

"You saw that?" Lorelai winced.

"Just before I went inside, actually that is why I went inside…to, you know … leave you guys alone", Rory suggested.

"Oh," _Great, She wanted to give us privacy, and got hurt as a result,_ Lorelai's guilty conscience took hold again, with doubts of her abilities as a mother, to know everything going on with her kid, but Rory and her were always honest and forth coming. Lorelai remembered her plans for tomorrow night pushed aside the worry that one day Rory and Lorelai would be Lorelai and Emily, part two, "you know… umm Luke and I were gonna go out… you know tomorrow night… on a date…is that okay?"

"Sure," Rory said still distracted by her skin and the movie.

"'Cause you know…we haven't done the official… make up date…and tomorrow is sort of date night… you know…Saturday."

"It's fine, Mom, you two should go out more often."

"Funny you should mention that… ummm because I was wondering… you know… if you want Sookie to come over? Or… do you want to… will you… be okay here… by yourself?"

It was the first time it was suggested that Rory could be home alone, "Really?"

_You have to gain some independence sometime I guess; I don't want you to be smothered like I was, _"Sure…" Lorelai said brightly, seeing her daughter was excited by the idea "I mean you are growing up… and you have the battle scars to prove it…" referring to her daughter's knee, "you are well into your double digits… if you want… you could stay here… and if anything goes wrong, anything at all, or if you are scared of Kathy Bates again… you can… call me on my cell phone and we will come right home."

"Wow, mom that'd be awesome!" _At home, by myself, maybe coffee isn't far behind; _and Rory was wondering what she would do with the house all to herself. _Ooo I could do laundry…my way…_ but she had to admit, now that her mom mentioned it, Rory was starting to have Bates anxiety again, _why did she have to bring it up?_

Still concerned over her daughter's wandering scratching hand, "Are you sure you are feeling okay?"

"Mom, I feel fine…" yet Rory kept on squirming.

"Okay Fidgety Figgerstien…"

Rory hadn't even realized how much she was absently scratching away at her skin. So she took a deep breath and stilled her hands,_ this is a case of mind over matter_, "there… are you happy?" and Rory calmly placed her hands on her knees.

"Very… but do you want me to lotion you up before bed, miss dry skin?"

"No thank you… I will be fine," Rory was trying her hardest to resist the itching and focus on the movie,_ Mind over matter._

"Okay… but if anything is weird tomorrow… I want you to tell me…"

"I already promised Luke I would…but you'll be the first to know."

Luke returned to the couch, and Lorelai was happy to have her pillow back, and cuddled up with him again, still keeping an eye on Rory and her hands.

Luke asked, "So what did I miss?" referring to the movie.

Lorelai lifted her head from his shoulder and narrowed her eyes at him.

"I'm kidding"

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**A/N: If you have a big one you don't need a small one? 23 and 24 were merged together… but with the help of my BETA, localizy! We broke it up… otherwise this chapter would have been like 6000 words… and while that is amazing (I don't know how I do it!) you may need a rest room break from time to time.**

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**"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
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**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund... **


	24. The Door

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)  
Provider of QUALITY Fan FICTION!**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. (JUST GIVE ME A JOB and we will call it even!) **

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: What if LL hooked up when they first met? What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**Luvz: I miss you  
CRACK WHORES: for an explanation of "AT MY WITS END!", as it came to be known, please look in reviews, if you care to know what happened! **

FEATURING BETA: localizy, this girl can read at like 200 WPM … I just want to put her on display and sell tickets! BABY, you're the GREATEST!

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**Chapter 24:  
The Door**

On Saturday, Lorelai woke up with Luke beside her. He had an arm around her waist, like usual, and Lorelai took in a deep content breath just to look at him over her shoulder. Lorelai smiled at how convenient it was for Luke to just sleep there, with her, since he didn't have any deliveries that day, and since their movies ended so late. Ben was covering the morning at the diner, so Luke could take his time and make breakfast for the girls.

Slowly Luke had been staying over more and more, never complaining about walking to work in the morning or the short drive if he brought his truck over. He never complained if Lorelai kept him up late, with movies… or other activities. Lorelai wondered if he realized how much he had been staying over… not that _she_ was complaining, mind you.

Lorelai snuck out of his grasp, went to her dresser, and found some lingerie she had bought on the sly. She picked out three of her favorite new ones, and hopped back in bed with the garments to jar Luke awake, she shouted "Hey, Hey, Hey" as she bounced on the bedsprings.

"Hmmm… hey," he said still sleepy, rolling onto his back, he rubbed his eyes, "what's going on?"

"I want you to pick what I'm going to wear today," and she placed the sheer fabrics on his stomach to choose from.

Luke handled the dainty material, a little perplexed, "Umm you are going to walk through town in these?" he asked sorting through the scraps of colored fabric she placed in front of him.

Wanting Luke to have something to look forward to all day, "Well this is what I'm wearing for our date tonight… I want you to like what you see."

"Just as long as I'm the only one that gets to see..."

"You got a deal mister," Lorelai smiled and kissed him good morning.

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Luke was making breakfast, and eyed Rory's door suspiciously, it hadn't cracked open since he came down to make Lorelai's coffee.

Lorelai entered the kitchen, her hair still damp and slick from her shower, and only half dressed in her business clothes, "Man, I don't know what you did when you fixed that shower, but it's like a tropical vacation in there… if I wouldn't get all pruney, I'd stay in there all day…"

"Ummm yeah… it's the new shower head," Luke was still distracted by Rory's closed door.

"Well I love it… and I'll show you how much I love it once Rory's back in school and we can go in there together." When her suggestive tone hadn't gotten his attention or at least elicited an "Aw Jeez", Lorelai finally noticed what Luke was staring at, and joined in, but after only 15 seconds, she got bored, "is the door gonna do a trick?" she asked, but Luke still didn't' notice, "Luke?"

"Hmmm?" Luke was still looking at the door. If he had been Superman it would have burst into flames already, or at the very least he would have seen through the wood and had his curiosity satisfied.

"Luke my bacon is burning."

"What…" and he looked down at the pan, "Aw jeez, sorry…" and Luke disposed of the wasted breakfast meat.

Luke was not one to burn bacon, expert cook that he was, so naturally Lorelai asked "Luke? What is it?"

"It's just… Rory," and Luke voiced his concerns to his girlfriend, "she's usually up by now, isn't she?"

Lorelai smiled that Luke now had Rory's habits memorize, _like a dad_, "Luke… it's summer… she doesn't have school…and we were up late last night… she's probably just sleeping in…"

"I heard her moving around in there earlier…"

"So why don't you ask her if she wants some breakfast…"

"I did… but she said she already ate…"

At that, Lorelai's brow furrowed, "It's like 8 o'clock on a Saturday?" the only reason Lorelai was up on a Saturday is that she had to work.

"I know, it sounded funny to me too," Luke concurred.

Lorelai went to the door and knocked, "Rory? Honey, are you okay?"

Muffled through the door Rory answered, "I'm fine… just working on my book list for next year… very busy…"

Lorelai gave Luke a look, to which he only shrugged in response, "well, I'm gonna have breakfast…then Luke and I have to go to work? Can we drop you off at Lane's?" Lorelai was already tired of talking to the door.

"No, Lane is coming over here… I'll be fine, consider it a dry run for your date tonight…"

Lorelai retreated from the door, "okay, you're right, that was weird."

"I tell you…something's up…"

"Luke, she's 11 and a complete angel…what could possibly be up?"

"I don't know… I just have this gut feeling… something is wrong."

Lorelai thought again, _like a dad_, but forced it out of her head this time, not wanting to get ahead of herself. _We are taking things slow… one month at a time…_However she did admit "I love how you care so much…" and Lorelai felt guilty that it wasn't an "I love you, Luke".

"Yeah well, she's grown on me."

"I know" Lorelai whispered, unable to stop thinking of the plans Luke had, of the future he wanted with the Gilmore girls.

"Well okay… so here comes bacon, take-two…" and he went back to making breakfast, and Lorelai took over staring at the door, while pretending to read the paper.

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Luke and Lorelai left for their respective places of work still without seeing Rory. Lorelai was sorting through the Inn's mail at the front desk, avoiding paper cuts, trying not to think about Rory's behavior, but looking forward to her date that evening when the phone rang around 2:30pm.

"Independence Inn, this is Lorelai speaking…"

"Lorelai? It's Luke."

"Hey Hon, what's up?"

"Did Rory come there for Lunch?"

"No, I haven't seen her…"

"Me neither, that's the problem."

"Luke," Lorelai tried to ease both of their worries, "she said Lane was coming over, right? And she's such an expert cook now… maybe she made something in our now well stocked kitchen"

"Great now I'm gonna be worried about there being a fire," he shot back.

_Just like a dad, _"Luke, you've taught her well, she'll be fine…maybe… they went to Weston's, you did give your permission to visit the competition."

"Yeah," he conceded.

"Or at the Bookstore or the Library… working on the CD cubby project…"

"You're probably right," Luke sighed, _if Lorelai's not worried yet, I won't be either, Rory is her kid,_ "I'm probably just getting worked up over nothing."

"Yes, but you know how I live for your rants. It's why I keep you around."

"Oh yeah," Luke ducked in the kitchen to flirt over the phone, "I thought you just wanted me for my body…" referring to her suggestion of their impending intimate date.

"… That too, don't worry, she's fine," but Lorelai began to doubt her self, "I'll see you later."

As Mia walked through the Lobby, she saw the distant look on her favorite employee's face as Lorelai hung up the phone, "Something wrong?" Mia asked.

"What? No, oh no, just … you know…"

"No, I don't," Mia smiled, "Is it Luke?"

"No"

"Rory?"

Lorelai decided she needed to get some parenting advice from her surrogate mother, "Mia, do kids just suddenly flip into… I don't know … that whole independent… don't bother me-teenager thing?" Lorelai honestly couldn't remember how it started with her and Emily, there just always seemed to be a wedge between them.

"Aw Lorelai, I suspect that you were born that way."

Lorelai smiled, "No I mean… Rory was fine last night… and this morning she wouldn't even come out of her room… insisting that she's busy…" and then Lorelai was starting to brain storm ideas, and gasped, "you don't think she's discovered boys do you? Oh God, is there a boy? She's only 11," _obsessing over moisturizer after swimming, shutting me out of her room and thusly her life._

"Lorelai" Mia's tone told Lorelai she should calm down before she jumped off a ledge and hurt herself, "the only boys she is interested in are dead, leather bound, and in the library."

"Well she went swimming with Lane… you know how boys are… playing splashy-splashy to get the girls attention…Oh No…" and she gasped again as another idea came into focus.

"What is it?"

"What if … you know… my little girl… you know…" it was almost painful to even think about, "What if she's a …woman now…"

"Lorelai, please…you are jumping to conclusions…" Lorelai was the closest thing Mia had to a daughter of her own, and tried to sooth, "she's still a bit young for that, don't you think?"

"Well she's ahead of every one else her age academically, why not … in that respect too?"

Mia shook her head, "You know Rory likes to handle problems herself at first, and when she is ready, she will ask for help."

"But this is her… woman hood… I've been there, I know… I can help and guide her and tell her how to avoid accidents…to always carry something just in case and how to save her favorite swimsuit and clothes from…"

"Lorelai, just give her a day," and Mia raised a hand to keep Lorelai from going on another tangent, "24 hours… is all I ask, let her come to you."

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When Lorelai came home from work, The Door, as it came to be known, was still closed. Rory was still in her room. _Did she stay in there all day?_

Lorelai went to the door and announced "Rory? I'm home."

"Okay" was muffled through the door.

"Rory, is anything wrong?"

"No, everything's fine," she quickly assured.

"Okay?" Lorelai said hesitantly, "I'm gonna get ready for my date with Luke… I'll be upstairs…"

"Okay" was still muted through the door.

Lorelai went to the stairs, but waited for a few moments, hoping Rory would come out and maybe then Lorelai could tackle her and make Rory tell her what was wrong; but the door never opened and Lorelai knew Luke was on his way, so she went up to change.

With Rory's mood still on her mind, Lorelai was all dolled up and ready for her date in a miraculous 20 minutes. She was fastening her last earring to her lobe and she was outside The Door again, "Rory? I'm all ready…" thinking of anything to get the door to open, "Can I come in? I need a second opinion," and Lorelai tried the handle but it was locked. It had never been locked before.

"Umm I'm sorry I'm in the middle of something that requires my full attention," Rory called on the other side of The Door.

_Oh God, I'm loosing her, _and Lorelai suddenly became terrified her daughter was growing up too quickly, was already an independent woman without her "Rory?"

Then Luke came in the house, looking rather dashing in his jacket, dress shirt and slacks, he came into the kitchen to see Lorelai knocking on Rory's door. She looked absolutely beautiful, in a dark navy dress; it had a v-neckline and an askew looking skirt that Luke thought looked funny in the magazines when Lorelai pointed it out, but fantastic on his girlfriend live and in person. He almost couldn't wait to see what she had planned for their evening; it was never a dull moment with Lorelai. "Hey?" seeing the concern on her face he asked, "What's wrong?"

Lorelai found Luke could be a new angle to get Rory out of her room, and tried to entice "Rory? Luke's here, we are going on our date now? Don't you want to come out and say good-bye? Wish us a good evening?"

"Goodnight… Have fun", came through the door.

"She's been in there all day?" Luke asked, trying to assess the situation.

"I guess. She hasn't come out since I've been home… I don't see any sign that Lane's been here…we can't leave her like this…"

Rory's voice came through the door again, "yes, you can."

Now knowing Rory was eavesdropping, Lorelai felt as if she was having an Emily moment, "Rory, open this door!"

"No, this is supposed to be a test of my independence, you go on your date."

"Rory this is ridiculous," and Lorelai was exasperated with her daughter at the moment, _this is my mom and I. This isn't … us, Rory,_ silently pleading with the door, wondering how a wedge was suddenly put between them.

Knowing they both could be stubborn, Luke wanted to end the stalemate and ease his girlfriend's mind, "Okay, wait right here," and Luke went outside on the porch, and when he came back inside a few minutes later, he shook his head, "she's locked her windows… I couldn't get in."

"But she is still in there, right? It's not like a robot or something to fool us?"

"I saw her duck under her bed of all places… I didn't think she had room under her bed with all the books she has."

"Well you see this really great guy built her these book shelves… to organize them and get them off the floor."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," Lorelai nodded; happy they could still flirt, even in a crisis.

"You'll have to give me his number; you need more room in your closet."

Lorelai smiled briefly, then remembered her self-exiled daughter behind the door, "Oh man, what are we going to do? We can't leave her like this…"

_Bookshelves?_ And something clicked for Luke, "where are my tools?" as he examined the door.

"What?"

Luke took off his jacket and put it on the back of a chair at the table. He found his toolbox on the back porch, and Luke was back in the kitchen and working on Rory's doorknob with his Philips screwdriver. He removed the knob and unlocked the door.

"You are amazing you know that?"

"Thanks," Luke smiled and they entered Rory's room together, her bed hadn't been made, and there were a stack of books on her nightstand.

Luke knew Rory was under the bed, cause he had seen her hide there through the window "Rory? What's going on?" he asked her mattress.

But Rory remained quiet, hoping they would think she wasn't there and just go on their date.

Luke gave Lorelai a look then crouched down at the foot of Rory's bed. "Rory?" he asked again, wanting to give her one more chance to come out on her own, but she stayed silent. Luke reached underneath the bed and grabbed one of Rory's ankles, "No, Luke, DON'T!" she cried from under her mattress.

Luke did. He pulled her out from under the bed, and in her pajamas, Rory slid out easily on the hardwood floor. Luke and Lorelai were in shock of what they saw.

"Don't look at me!" and Rory put her arms up over her face, like a vampire shielding herself from sun light.

Luke was closest to her so he pulled her arms down, to show Lorelai her daughter's condition. Rory was covered head to toe with a burning red rash and pock marks.

"Aw baby," Lorelai kicked off her heels and knelt down with her boyfriend to comfort her child, "what happened?"

Now that her horrible secret had been discovered, Rory was on the verge of tears, "I don't know… I woke up looking like this…"

"Come on let's get you in bed," and Luke helped her up off the floor, "Rory if something was wrong you should have told us?"

"I know… I'm sorry; I was going to, honest. But …well, you guys were going to leave me in charge of myself…"

"Rory," Lorelai smiled at how eager her daughter was to please, so eager to take on new responsibilities, so cute, despite the redness on her face, "we only wanted you to be alone for a few hours… we didn't ask you to move out? You don't have to pay rent and be Independent Woman yet… you are just a kid… and now you are sick... you need your mommy," and Lorelai grabbed the comforter to tuck her daughter in.

As Rory crawled under her covers again, she explained "Well I didn't want you to worry…I didn't want you guys to miss your special make up date…"

"Rory we can always reschedule our dates…" and Lorelai sat with her daughter on the bed, "and we've already made up anyway."

"I know, but…I don't want you fight cause of me … and you look so pretty tonight" Rory smiled up at her beautiful mom, her white teeth a stark contrasted to her red pock marked skin.

"Well you only know that because we finally got the door open, and we won't fight cause of you…" and Lorelai stroked her daughter's cheek, "Oh My God you are burning up…"

"Mom, I feel fine…really, well minus the itching."

"Well you feel like I could fry an egg on your head."

Rory winced, "please don't try," now that Luke taught her about all the qualities of raw eggs, she didn't want a salmonella infection on top of her current illness.

Lorelai could hear Emily's scolding tone again, "why have I never bought a thermometer…?" she said out loud.

Luke cleared his throat.

"You snuck a thermometer in here too?" she asked her resourceful fella, thinking of his preparedness with the first aid kit.

"Yeah" he admitted sheepishly, wanting to be prepared when Rory was first showing signs of her cold a few days ago, since he was already in the cold medicine aisle.

"Get it," Lorelai requested.

Luke returned a few minutes later, and Rory frowned as he came back to her side, self-conscious around the man of the house, "I'm so ugly!"

"Rory, you are not ugly," Luke assured as he sat on the bed.

"Well I'm certainly itchy…"

Lorelai made the horrible realization that Rory might have been scratching all day long, that was why she looked so bad, "Don't you dare scratch anymore, you'll get scars…I'll hold your hand the whole night if I have to," and as promised, Lorelai grabbed both of Rory's hands and held them, happy to finally know the reason for her daughter's mood, happy that she was still a kid, and happy that as a mother she was still needed.

"I'm sorry I ruined your plans… I was going to tell you after your date… honest…you should go out any way… I'll be fine. I'll still be in charge."

"Hey, Luke and I are both here… for you…we will have other dates."

"Yeah… you come first, kid," Luke agreed with a smile, "now open up," offering Rory the thermometer.

Rory rolled her eyes, but let Luke put the thermometer in her mouth, and she balanced the stick under her tongue.

"I'm gonna make you some tea? Would you like that?" Luke offered, to which Rory nodded 'yes'.

Luke went into the kitchen to put on the kettle, and after a few minutes, Lorelai removed the thermometer and gasped, "100.25?"

Rory tried to reason with her mother, so she wouldn't worry "that's only like 2 degrees above normal…"

"Well two degrees above normal is known as a fever…" and Lorelai called out, "Luke, could you go up stairs and get my lotion from my dresser."

"I'm on it."

Lorelai turned back to her daughter, "well you may look like a 'connect the dots page', but you will smell amazing."

"Aw man I hate being sick…this summer sucks," but Rory was pleased to be pampered by her mother; she didn't know why she felt so self conscious to hide being sick from Lorelai all day, or why she felt she had to handle it on her own. Just because she was gaining certain privileges, didn't mean she had to get carried away, _I'm only 11; maybe my fever is affecting my judgment?_ Her symptoms at the forefront of her mind again, and with her mother there to comfort and reassure her, Rory finally had the courage to ask, "Mom? What's wrong with me?"

Lorelai was always honest with her daughter, "Well I think you have chicken pox," knowing Rory had never had it before, and she did go swimming the other day and got exposed to God knows what by God knows who.

"Whew" Rory visibly relaxed in bed, "I thought it was leprosy, or like the Black Death or something…"

"No, the Black Death is puberty…. Fortunately, both are only temporary."

As Luke came back in the room, he was just in time to hear a relieved Rory say "and how fortunate that it happened over the summer and not during school, so I won't miss anything."

Lorelai knew Rory was the only kid in Connecticut who would be happy about that.

Luke was glad that Rory had her smile back, "do we know what the problem is?"

"Yeah I think its chicken pox…" Lorelai informed, and suddenly realizing how contagious it was if you had never been exposed to it, "Oh God, have you had chicken pox?" she asked her boyfriend, wondering if she'd have to take care of both of them, then trying to imagine her boy friend with the red sores from head to toe, and having to lotion him and her daughter.

"When I was 6?" Luke shrugged dully "you?"

"8, you win," Lorelai teased, and seeing the bottle in Luke's hand Lorelai asked "Umm Lotion?"

"Oh umm right…" and Luke suddenly felt uncomfortable, "I'm just gonna... go… get that tea ready…" and Luke left and closed the door as best he could since the knob was still off.

Rory thought that his speedy departure was funny, "that was weird", considering the face Luke made before he left.

Lorelai smiled. "I think … he wanted to give you some privacy… since you know… you are a girl… and I have to lather you up with lotion."

"He's so cute sometimes…" Rory giggled, "I don't even have boobs yet…" _Luke is so silly._

Lorelai's smile went from a "isn't Luke cute", to a nervous smile in an instant, "hee, hee yeah, boobs", and Lorelai made a note to talk with Rory about the change into womanhood another time; _let's not have her grow up too quickly._

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**A/N: If you have a big one you don't need a small one? 23 and 24 were merged together… but with the help of my BETA, localizy! We broke it up… otherwise this chapter would have been like 6000 words… and while that is amazing (I don't know how I do it!) you may need a rest room break from time to time.**

**A/N: I am so malleable, seriously… every time I re-read this chapter… DUDE I got itchy… I was sympathy scratching for Rory… how about you? The POWER of suggestion, huh?**

**A/N: I know… I used the door knob bit again… well an Ax would totally be over reacting … and Luke just fixed the window!**

**A/N: My Fav Parts:**

**I love this metaphor**

**- Luke was still looking at the door. If he had been Superman it would have burst into flames already, or at the very least he would have seen through it and had his curiosity satisfied.**

**I'm so proud of it!**

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**"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
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**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund... **


	25. Do You Love Me?

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer****: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. (JUST GIVE ME A JOB and we will call it even!)**

**R/R****: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q:**** What if LL hooked up when they first met? What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**FEATURED BETA: localizy, thank you for putting up with my compulsive, anal, and persnickety changes… to which she responds… **

**(drum roll) **

**its cool **

**(insert crash of symbol!) **

**A/N: everyone can relax my hits for WITS are well above there previous 2500, it's nice to be popular… but I am disturbed by the lack of reviews… I don't expect you to review EVERY chapter… or redo all 600 odd some of the previous reviews… but that would be nice… If you are so inclined… lol**

**Like Lorelai going to the David Bowie concert! **

**A/N: got tissues?  
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Chapter 25:  
Do You Love Me? **

With Rory covered in lotion, in fresh PJs, tucked in with Colonel Cluckers, and with a fresh cup of tea on her nightstand, she was under strict orders to rest, with a promise Luke and Lorelai would take her to take her to the doctor in the morning. Lorelai wanted to ask Luke to move the easy chair into Rory's room so she could watch over her daughter in comfort, and she found Luke at the sink, washing random dishes from the morning's breakfast, "You don't have to do that."

"I want to."

There was something short about the answer, so Lorelai pressed, "Is something wrong?"

"Lorelai…" and Luke took a deep breath, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Lorelai she half smiled, curious as to what wrong this wonderful man could have done, and she went to his side.

"I didn't tell you sooner… she just said she had a stuffed up nose, I didn't think… there would be… other symptoms…a fever…a rash… I didn't tell you because she told me not to worry… and she promised she would tell us if she got worse…and then she didn't tell us…and…"

Trying to put the rant on pause before Luke went completely into a full tirade, "Luke, its okay, there wasn't any blood this time… Rory wasn't crying or in any pain… so you didn't know anything was wrong…I didn't know anything was wrong, it's fine." Lorelai placed a hand on his chest, "You handle blood and broken bones… and I'll handle the more subtle illnesses…okay?"

_Subtle illnesses? _Luke immediately thought of his father. They had no clue about the cancer till it was too late. William was older, short of breath at times after years of smoking, with a persistent cough, and far too busy and stubborn to go to a doctor. There was nothing Luke could do to help his father; nothing except watch him waste away, and after seeing the pain his father went through, Luke decided to take care of himself, the way William never had. William made Luke promise to have a family of his own one day, so Luke won't be alone, and Luke would always have someone to take care of, and with kids of his own, Luke would get a glimpse of just how proud William was of his only son. However, coming back to the present, Luke did smile at the way Lorelai talked about them handling Rory together… as if they were a team, a real family, the other day she said he was … fatherly… that was new from her, and Luke liked hearing it. "Okay" he agreed.

With the easy chair and a chair from the kitchen table now added to Rory's room, Luke and Lorelai, were comfortable themselves, changed into their own pajamas, and went back to Rory's side, together a team, to keep her from scratching and scarring herself. Rory made a special request, "Luke, would you read to me? You have such a great speaking voice, Ooooohhhh you could totally do like voiceovers and stuff, like on cartoons or commercials or something…"

"Umm thanks?" his brow furrowing over the strange compliment considering how much he hated the greedy commercialism that had swept the country; yet he recalled the first time he read to Rory, that first night he slept over, remembering how Rory found his voice comforting then and easily fell asleep, "You still on Dorian Gray?"

"Yes, he just met this singer/actress lady, her name is Sybil …I think he really likes her," she handed Luke the book from her nightstand, momentarily free from Lorelai's grasp.

"Well okay," and Luke smiled across the bed at Lorelai, who quickly took Rory's hands again, to make good on her promise, and all parties settled in for story time with Luke.

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"I can't believe they are letting my kid read this stuff," Lorelai jeered, "This is SO stupid."

"Lorelai," Luke admonished, "you are interrupting again."

"But this _hero_, if I can call him that, is ridiculous! He loves this Sybil Vane woman… believes virtuous and pretty, a diamond in the rough, and all that, and they get engaged even though she only knows him as Sir Tristan, she doesn't even know his real name, red flag right there!"

Luke interjected, rolling his eyes, "I know the story…" _I just read you the story…_

Lorelai continued, "…And to him she sings like an angel on earth, she's so talented, what a pity she is so beneath me blah, blah, blah, and every one is against them…. I mean her brother, what was his name… James? James thinks Dorian is just out to get laid, and Dorian's friends don't like her because she's so far below Dorian on the social latter, and then they have the nerve to dare him to sleep with her before they get married, to somehow prove how much she loves him or not… or to prove or disprove … you know… her outstanding purity…or whatever…"

Luke couldn't help but wonder if the class warfare was striking a more personal cord with his girlfriend, and if that such a dispute was in his own future. "Lorelai," Luke tried to stop her again, but she continued since she was on full steam.

"…So he invites her over, and gives her an ultimatum, threatens to call off the wedding if she doesn't sleep with him that night… and because she loves him and doesn't want to lose him, she does sleep with him, as he requested… and then the next morning, he calls off the wedding anyway. Oh no, not to her face… he sends her a letter! He took the time to hand write a letter to blow off his fiancée because she wasn't virtuous enough to wait for their wedding night… then she kills herself for the shame of it all… and of course, the stupid man regrets tricking her and wants her back but she's dead now and believing there is no good left in the world, he turns to a life of pleasure and sin… only to live in the moment and for …opium…"

"Lorelai?" Luke rolled his eyes.

"Mom, please," Rory wanted to help Luke calm her mother down, she was almost asleep and they were almost done the chapter.

"What?"

"Do you mind?" Rory said weakly from her pillow, and turned back over to Luke, "Could you start from the last paragraph…" her arm limp around Colonel Cluckers.

"Sure."

Snapped out of her rant, Lorelai finally saw what was before her, a man reading to her daughter, Luke reading to Rory, and she briefly recalled _Chris has never done that._ Lorelai remembered Luke asking _"You still on Dorian Gray?"_ he knew what book she was on. He knew Rory's favorite foods and color; he knew all the little things father's paid attention to. Now that Rory's arm was limp, Lorelai settled back in her chair, pulling up the blanket she got from the closet a chapter ago, to watch the pair of them and enjoyed the sight.

Rory was so focused on the story and Luke's voice that Lorelai didn't need to hold her hand anymore. Lorelai watched as Rory fell asleep, completely trusting and safe with Luke. Lorelai never had help before when it came to Rory being sick. There was a time when Rory had jaundice as a baby, when they still lived at the Gilmore manor, and Emily was too involved and so critical; Lorelai couldn't even remember what the doctor's instructions were. _Really Lorelai, this is your child's health and you didn't even pay attention to the doctor's advice, _Lorelai recalled rolling her eyes at her mother's input.

"Hey? You okay?" Luke had a hand on her shoulder.

"Umm yeah," Lorelai merely shifted in her seat, not realizing she had been dozing off with the memory.

"She's out cold… you coming upstairs?"

"Just a few more minutes… I don't want to leave her just yet."

"Okay," Luke kissed Lorelai's forehead to let her have a moment with her daughter and he went up stairs.

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After forty-five minutes Luke couldn't take it anymore; he whipped off the covers and went to check on both of them.

Luke found Lorelai asleep in the easy chair and he smiled at her dedication to Rory. Luke took Lorelai in his arms, carried her up the stairs, and tucked his girlfriend into her own bed.

Luke went back down to check on Rory, and decided he'd take a shift watching her. Just as he settled in the chair, Rory woke up; her eyes were heavy and squinting, her voice sounded tired and weak, "Luke?" recognizing the silhouette.

"I'm here, Rory."

"Where's mom?"

"She fell asleep… you'll have to put up with me for a while."

"I'll take it" she half smiled. "Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you make me some more tea? With some honey in it?"

"Sure, you want peppermint?"

"Please."

"Okay," he smiled that even though she was sick, Rory was still Miss Manners.

Luke went to the kitchen and made two cups of tea with honey as quickly as the bags could seep. He returned to Rory's side, and helped her sit up to take a drink. "I hate being sick… I'm so hot…and I just feel gross and goopy with the lotion on now…"

"Well at least it wasn't during school," he recalled her thankful observation from earlier. "You want something cold for your head?"

"Sure. Thank you, Luke."

Once again Luke was off on an errand eager to help; he found a clean washcloth and soaked it with cold water. He wrung the excess water out and folded it for Rory's head. As he swabbed her forehead to ease her fever, Rory watched him. She knew he probably never took care of a sick child before, but he was really good at it. She began to wonder if this was a talent naturally ingrained into all humans, how to take care of each other, how to be a good parent. Then she remembered that wasn't the case with her own father, _or the people you see on the news._ Good people and good parents were a rare breed, and somehow Rory knew that even though Luke wasn't a father, he was quite possibly the best of them.

This was a rare opportunity for Rory, her mother wasn't around, and since she was sick her judgment was just impaired enough to ask Luke, bluntly, "Do you love me?"

Luke nearly choked on his own sip of tea, "I'm sorry … what?"

Rory simply repeated, "Do you love me?"

"Umm" Luke set down his cup on her nightstand, and blinked a few times to make sure he was awake; he really didn't know what to do with the question.

Rory clarified, shyly playing with one of the Colonel's wings "I mean… I know you love mom, because you know, you get to kiss her and stuff, but… how do you feel … about me?"

Her big blue eyes shone in the darkness, and Luke pulled the easy chair closer to the bed, and leaned forward. He took Rory's small limp hand in his own, and assured her, "I love you too," realizing for the first time he had said it to Lorelai, but had never thought to say it to Rory. "You are very special to me. I'm glad I started dating your mother, because as a result… I got to meet you. You are smart, and funny, and I consider myself very lucky to know you. Do you think I'd go in to a collapsing building if I didn't care about you? Teach you all my cooking secrets if I didn't like to spend time with you?" Luke looked at their clasped hands and wondered if he was over stepping his bounds again, but Lorelai wasn't there, and Rory apparently needed to hear his words. "You know, my father taught me to judge a person by their actions. So let me ask you… how would you judge me by my actions?"

Rory considered, her mind was so tired, but she knew this was a serious conversation. She thought about the last few months with Luke and her mom, the cooking lessons and the movie nights, the dinners at the diner and the festivals in the square, the picnic at the Dragonfly and his tending to her while her mom was asleep. "I'd say… that you loved me… like I was your own daughter."

"And there you have it…" Luke smiled that they had the same conclusion.

Since she was already being blunt, Rory asked, "Are you gonna marry my mom?"

Luke wondered if his intentions were written all over his face… or if Rory merely considered the words of William Danes further. That Luke's actions told young Rory that he wanted to be more permanent with the Gilmore girls. Staying over almost every night, having dinner together all the time, like a real family. He said honestly, "I don't know… I'd like to, but it still maybe a little early to think about that."

Rory took a deep breath, and released it, "I hope you do."

"Me too, but… I think that's really up to your mom."

"If you want… I'll work on her for you? Make her come around to the idea…"

Luke laughed, "I'd like that."

Then Rory changed the subject, "Luke? I'm hungry…"

"What do you want? Anything you like…I'll make it," even know the best advice was to feel a cold and starve a fever; he wanted to do something for her to make her feel better.

"But it's the middle of the night?"

"What's the point of being sick if you don't get what you want?"

Rory had to laugh at him, "You sound like mom."

"She has that effect on me. Come on, anything at all …"

Rory thought about it, she knew she wanted some sort of comfort food, so she considered all the things that Luke could make well and in a timely manner. _He did say anything._

"Mashed potatoes" she smiled.

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Lorelai woke up surprised to be so rested, and in her own bed, alone. _How did I get here? _She did remember changing into her PJs for Luke's story time, and the stupid plot of Dorian Gray. Lorelai pulled the covers aside and crept down stairs in her bare feet. She remembered Rory was sick, and she didn't know if Luke had left for the diner already. Following her hunch down he stairs, she had the motherly instinct to check on Rory. When she entered the kitchen, there was a mess of dirty dishes, an electric mixer, and potatoes peels on the table, which surprised her._ How did this happen? Luke cleaned up last night. I didn't even know we had potatoes. I didn't know I had an electric mixer._ Lorelai came into her daughter's room and stood at the foot of the bed and admired the sight before her. Rory was passed out… again, with her mouth slightly open as she breathed her left arm limp again over Colonel Cluckers. Luke was hunched forward, leaning on Rory's bed, he was holding her right hand, his head resting on his left forearm, and his right arm limp over the copy of Dorian Gray.

On the nightstand, Lorelai saw two coffee mugs, Rory's other books, a wadded up washcloth, and an empty bowl of something with a spoon sticking out._ What happened last night?_

Rory opened her eyes, as if psychically hearing her mothers question through their unique bond, looking up at her mother all she said was "Hey".

"Hey," Lorelai said brightly, "looks like you had a busy night," but she was still curious as to what she had missed.

"Yeah," Rory agreed, she remembered everything that was said, about her mom, and Luke wanting to marry Lorelai, but most importantly how Luke loved Rory very much. Rory decided to keep these thoughts to herself for now, just another little secret in the special bond she developed with Luke. Rory shook the hand Luke held to wake him up, "Luke?"

"Hmm?"

"Mom's here?"

Luke sat up, instantly regretting hunching over all night, suddenly discovering a pain that had settled in his back. He rubbed his eyes with his free, right hand, still hanging on to Rory's hand with his left, "Morning," he said acknowledging his girlfriend, forcing him self awake with a deep yawn and a few blinks.

"Luke?" Rory wanted his attention now that he was awake again.

"Yeah?"

"I want some more."

"Rory you've had two bowls already?"

"That was hours ago…it's time for breakfast," in a weak "it will make me feel better" whine.

"You want mashed potatoes for breakfast?"

"Yes, with extra butter please, I'm sick…remember."

"Only because you are young," thinking of how extra butter would clog his own arteries at his age; so with a warm smile Luke kissed Rory's forehead, and went to prepare her request.

Luke leaned into kiss Rory's forehead and Rory closed her eyes to accept the fatherly affection. After seeing this, Lorelai felt like she had missed a lot by falling asleep; _my boyfriend made mashed potatoes for my daughter… in the middle of the night? He is kissing her forehead; he's never done that before…it's… just like a dad? Why mashed potatoes?_

Lorelai approached her daughter's bed, wanting the scope from her daughter, "So… what did I miss?"

In her weakened state, Rory thought Lorelai was talking about the book, and gently ranted "Oh My God, Mom, you were so right about this book… Dorian Gray now has designs on the painter's niece, Gladys, you know the little girl, but now she's all grown up. I mean, there is like 20 year age difference, Dorian knew her as a little girl and now is making the moves on her… it's just gross…and no one finds it weird that he hasn't aged a day in 20 years? Oh yeah and he killed her uncle too the one who painted the portrait… but she doesn't know that yet… can't wait till that blows up in his face…I'm usually not disappointed with Oscar Wilde, but today I have to say I am. This is just too philosophical and …weird," for lack of a better word. There was a hint of the usual Rory as her rant went on.

"Umm well glad you see things my way…" Lorelai knew she was still missing a few pieces, "I'm just gonna see how Luke's doing…"

When she came in the kitchen, Luke had placed something in the microwave, as the mashed potatoes reheated, Luke used Lorelai's phone and started to knead his back with his free hand. "Well, what do you want me to do? I already had the morning off, Ben. I'm sorry, I didn't plan this, Rory is sick …Ben, don't you have kids? … Well, Lorelai needs my help…Look, I already told you, just put a sign in the window, there are bound to be some high school kids needing a job for the summer… well with the tourist season starting we'll need the extra help, why are you fighting me on this?... well you'll just have to get used to the new people… Ben… Jeez alright, alright… HEY, I know this is my business, don't you think I see the sign that says Luke's out front …thank you so much for that reminder." Luke hung up the phone and then noticed Lorelai.

"Lover's quarrel?" Lorelai asked as she came up beside him and massaged his back to assist with the pain.

"Aw Ben's just giving me a hard time… I mean, I want to be here for Rory, you know…I remember when I had chicken pox I was in bed for three weeks and miserable… So I told Ben to put up a sign and hire more people… but he says that I'm the boss and that I should do the interviews… but at the same time he doesn't even want any new people, with the hassle of training and dealing with new personalities… and I told him it was only temporary…but I can't…" and Luke looked disappointed, "I can't go to the doctor with you guys… I gotta conduct interviews or hire more people or something…" his last sentence conveyed how tedious he thought the formality process was. When his rant concluded so did the microwave's reheating cycle.

"Luke its okay…really… you have the diner to worry about… Aw Jeez… I have work; I have to call Mia…" Lorelai accepted the phone from Luke as he automatically handed it to her, and then turned his attention to the microwave and Rory's mashed potatoes. Lorelai watched Luke as he lovingly poured milk in the bowl, to make them creamy again, and added the requested extra butter. "Um hey yes this is Lorelai Gilmore is Mia there? ... Hey Mia, you are not going to believe this… Rory has Chicken Pox… I know… that was the problem… Yes, I did over react," wincing at that little confession being overheard, since she was the one telling Luke to relax. "Yes, I'm going to take her to the doctor… so umm I need today off… and… I don't know how long… this will be an issue…okay thanks… I'll keep you posted…bye Mia."

Luke thought he'd offer, "you know… I could help with Rory… you know be here if she needs anything… we could… split the time… like last night…" he shrugged.

"Um yeah okay, I appreciate that." Lorelai was still not used to having help with Rory and still trying to figure out the mashed potato mystery.

"Okay… when you get back from the doctor… she seems to be on some sort of carbohydrate comfort food kick. If she still wants mashed potatoes, there is more in the fridge. All you have to do, Put it in the bowl; minus the spoon, of course, cover it with cellophane… microwave for 3 minutes… stir some milk if its lumpy or dry…add a pat of butter… and serve… you think you can handle that?" knowing Lorelai wasn't the gourmet Rory was turning out to be.

"Um sure?" Lorelai nodded and had to ask, "Why is my kid eating mashed potatoes?"

"It's what she wanted," Luke shrugged, a little embarrassed.

"So you made them for her …in the middle of the night?" Lorelai smiled at the gesture.

"Well we had some potatoes because she wanted to make her own chili cheese fries… and…"

"Luke… it's … really sweet, thank you."

"Sure, and I'll clean this up…" referring to the mess on the kitchen table.

"Okay, good cause if you think I'm going too…HA!"

"I'm gonna deliver these," and he took the bowl into the patient.

Lorelai watched from the door, how cute her boyfriend and child were together, the way Luke apologized that he couldn't go to the doctor with her this time, how understanding Rory was about it, and she reminded him to pick up another bag of potatoes for dinner. Luke did a quick clear of the dishes and potato skins, so the table would be free and clean again. Luke said good-bye to Rory, wishing her to get well with another kiss on her forehead; and Rory again scooped happily into the puréed carbohydrate with her spoon.

Luke and Lorelai said goodbye and kissed him at the door, "Thank you again… for all your help…and we'll have that make up date soon," she promised, and Luke smiled and left for work.

It was so surreal to Lorelai. Last night with the discovery of Rory's Chicken Pox, and Luke reading to her, making her a special request meal. She wondered if this was how a regular family dealt with illness, splitting time, accommodating schedules, each giving and taking and making sacrifices. It was like Luke was the dad of their little family unit. She had those observations last week at the picnic, and now dealing with sickness. It was new and strange to see Luke fit so well in that role, and yet… it was like it had been that way the entire time, the two of them together… handling Rory, and for a moment Lorelai almost forgot about Christopher.

Luke poked his head back in the front door with one last comment, "By the way, you are right… that book is just weird," and off he went to hire more help and handle the hungry hordes of Stars Hollow. "See you tonight."

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A/N: alternate title for this chapter was Dorian Gray Is Weird.**

**A/N: CALM DOWN! It's Sir Tristan… not actual Tristan… not in my stories, OY! Give it up TRORIES!**

**A/N: the Dorian Gray Rant is of course my own opinion of the book, but I really should re-read it… it is fun and Deep … but it's like Woaw Dorian… way to give up on the human race and your immortal soul there buddy! **

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"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
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R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund...**


	26. Sass In A Glass

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. (JUST GIVE ME A JOB and we will call it even!)**

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: What if LL hooked up when they first met? What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**FEATURED BETA: localizy, thank you for putting up with my compulsive persnickety changes…**

**Localizy, _What Can I Say…_**

**No seriously go read localizy's fic _what can I say_…. read this first… then go to her's! PS THANKS FOR THE LAST MINUTE BETA on the afore mentioned persnickety changes!**

**A/N: I hope this was worth the wait!**

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**Chapter 26:  
Sass In A Glass**

As it was suspected, it was indeed the dreaded Chicken Pox, and the usual bed rest was recommended by Rory's doctor. It seemed the town motto had changed to "A Pox on Chicken Pox", because the entire town of Stars Hollow wanted to pitch in and help Rory Gilmore. Taylor even did a presentation at the town meeting about the warning signs of the virus, but when met with concerned townies, Luke and Lorelai assured the whole lot of them that the two of them had the situation under control, but appreciated the out pour of support.

Lorelai split her usual time at the Inn with a temp, who was given simple tasks: answering the phone, sorting the mail, checking people in, while Luke stayed with Rory. Anything major, like booking the dining room or the grounds for a wedding had to go through Lorelai or Mia. Luke hired four teenagers to be servers so Caesar, Ben, and himself could focus on cooking when it was Lorelai's turn to watch Rory. After a few speed bumps, a rant about the disenfranchised youth of America, and a lesson on how to use Luke's vintage cash register, everything at the diner ran smoothly.

Rory had regular visitors who could see that Lorelai and Luke were taking excellent care of Rory together, making sure her twitching hands didn't scratch herself silly. Sookie would stop by the house with comfort food, and a thankful Rory gladly accepted all offerings, provided it had a side of Luke's mashed potatoes. Mia stopped by from time to time to make sure Rory had everything she needed, just to chat, and that Lucas kept up with the potato demand. Even Lane stopped by, but she could only visit through a closed bedroom window. Mrs. Kim didn't want Lane to get sick as well. So, the two friends would sit at the window sill, chat through the glass, and Lane asked Rory if there was a way she could somehow save the chicken pox bug so she could catch it during the school year, like during a test or something. Rory assured that she wouldn't wish the chicken pox on her worst enemy.

With a painful sigh of relief, the trio completed Dorian Gray, and was all too happy to move on to Emma because Rory assured both the adults that Jane Austen would be an "upper" compared to Oscar Wilde. They would play the card game fish; work on plans for Lane's CD storage, plan movie nights for the rest of the summer, and all the things they were going to do together once Rory got better.

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After two weeks of being bed ridden, Rory was up and around just in time for the Fourth of July. July 2nd was her first morning out of bed and she was enjoying a glass of juice with Luke in the Gilmore kitchen.

Lorelai came downstairs, ready for work, and saw her daughter at the kitchen table, "Hey honey… you feeling better?"

"Much better," Rory assured, "Mom, you want some juice?"

Lorelai winced, "It's pink?" and she stared at the glass trying to figure out what fruit would give off pink juice.

"Yeah its grapefruit juice… its sass in a glass" Rory smiled like her normal peaches and cream self, emphasizing her Ss.

Lorelai turned to Luke pleaded, "Please tell me you didn't teach her that?"

Rory defended Luke, "It's on the carton," as Rory pointed to the side of the carton with the sales pitch on it.

Lorelai took a peek and couldn't believe some idiot actually came up with that slogan… and that another idiot approved it to be printed on all their cartons across the country, "Umm I'll pass on the sass," and went for her standard Coffee.

"You made a rhyme." Switching topics Rory posed, "Mom, are we going to the Fourth festival…"

"Like you have to ask, is Lane coming with us?"

"I think she has family coming in again, we're hoping for a sleep over soon though… we have to finish her CD cubbies. Luke? Are you going to come with us?"

"Like I have a choice?"

"Come on Luke… you're a guy… don't you like fireworks and explosions?" Rory couldn't wait to see the bursts of color and lights in the sky again.

Lorelai smile turned to something more… mischievous again, "Yeah Luke, fireworks?" and Lorelai winked behind her daughter, so only Luke would see, and Luke wondered what type of fireworks his girlfriend had in mind, since Rory was better and they could have their official make up date.

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During the Fourth festival fell on a Thursday however that didn't stop the town from celebrating their grand festival and having their fireworks display mid-week. Before Luke could start on a rant about the Forefathers or the Revolutionary War, the girls persuaded Luke to win them prizes at most of the games. He was especially good at throwing baseballs at milk bottles and wincingly happy to buy them every manner of disgusting junk food the venders were offering and that the girls could stomach.

On picnic blankets in the square, all town folk watched the fireworks together, but the real fireworks came after the Fourth festival, when Luke and Lorelai could enjoy some quality alone time after Rory went to bed.

"I love the Fourth of July," Lorelai sighed to herself.

"I think you just love sex," Luke smiled, as they cuddle up in her bed, kissing her shoulder.

"Seriously, I love what it represents you know, independence, breaking away from tyranny, if it's never been done before, forge ahead and make a new way. Make a real difference in the world…hmmm like that, keep that up on my ear lobes…"

"Are you talking about 'your' Inn? Or your parents?" Luke smiled.

"Both actually," thinking of her defiant steps away from her parent's lifestyle and of a future business a few years… down the line.

"Not to mention that you love the hot dogs, and corn dogs and French fries covered with cheese… pretzels covered in cheese …nachos covered in cheese …" Luke was unable to remember all the junk food items she gorged herself with, " …funnel cakes…"

"Hey I loved your chili cheese dogs the best…" referring to their barbeque dinner at Sookie's before the festival officially began, "and did you notice… I ate the corn on the cob… a vegetable," hoping he would be proud.

"I'm just glad Rory let me cook…"

"Yeah, well, when she learns something new she does become quite obsessed with it."

"Well, it's good for her, gives her self esteem a boost."

"I'm sure a daughter of mine would never be lacking in that," and Lorelai sighed in his arms again "but the food was really, really good this year," settling into her pillow and falling asleep.

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On Saturday, it was Lorelai's day off and apparently it was her turn to be under the weather.

"How you feeling?" Luke asked entering Lorelai's room.

"Ugh… Rory is right this summer Sucks! I hate being sick… and this was already my day off… so this makes me just feel even worse… I mean all the time I had to juggle at work to be there for Rory… and this is what Karma gives me for my good deed."

"Well, at least you don't complain about it…" Luke said dryly. Honestly he felt bad, and wondered if it was his dinner last night that made her so violently ill till the wee hours of the morning. "Maybe this is what you get for eating like 10 pounds of junk at the festival?"

Lorelai dismissed, "That was days ago…and with my cast iron stomach? Please!" she rolled her eyes, "... maybe, I ate too much? Is that possible? Me… eat too much… man, Rory just got over chicken pox and now I have the plague …not fair…" showing how immature she could still be and pouted, even though she was supposed to be the responsible parent.

"You don't have the plague" Luke replied sitting on the bed with her.

"You did this to me…" thinking of the offending dish that caused her condition, maybe even blame his chili cheese dogs from a few days ago, "What did you make last night anyway…"

"I told you, Fettuccine Alfredo with Shrimp… you like shrimp…maybe it was bad shrimp", searching for the reason why his girlfriend was suffering, and truly sorry if he had really been the cause.

"Well, hello? You are in the food service industry, aren't you suppose to check that out before you cook it!"

"You are just mad that I didn't deep-fry it like you wanted. Rory and I ate it … we are fine …"

"Yeah, Rory's adopting your weird diet; you are slowly brain washing my kid into eating healthy…Shame on you pitting mother against daughter."

"Hey, I just give her a choice, she makes the decision," he playfully defended.

"Oh yeah? Sass in a glass?" Lorelai quoted.

"I was drinking some juice… and she wanted to try it…"Luke defended.

Lorelai growled and scowled at the positive influence her boyfriend was being on her kid, but secretly she thought it was cute. _Sass in a glass…_ now she thought it was funny and clever, just like Rory did.

Suddenly remembering the glass in his hand, "Oh, speaking of which, here, I brought you some juice."

"My stomach has enough sass at the moment, thank you!"

"It's apple juice; it has pepsin in it which will help settle your stomach."

"How do you know so much?" she asked as she took the glass. "Were you a nutritionist in another life?"

"Well I got on my little health kick… after… my dad died…"

Lorelai bit her lip, knowing what a sensitive subject William was for her fella, "Luke…I'm sorry I didn't mean to … tease."

"Yes, you did, and it's fine… taking care of my self is how I can take care of you," he looked her in the eye, and taking her hand in his, "and I can promise I will be around a long, long time."

"Good," Lorelai smiled, finding it refreshing to have someone to take care of her for a change, to pamper her every once in a while, treat her like the queen she knew she was.

Their quiet moment burst when Rory called up the stairs, "Luke!"

"Yeah," he called back.

"Mom's broth is done!"

"Okay," then Luke turned back to Lorelai, "it's been a while since you… you know…"

_Barfed, threw up, puked, blew chunks,_ "Exploded?" Even though her stomach's bathroom antics wasn't her most attractive moment, Luke had stayed by Lorelai's side, hoping his presence was some bit of comfort during her misery.

Admit ably, Lorelai worshiping the porcelain wasn't Luke's favorite memory of their time together, "Well yeah… anyway, I thought you'd like to try so some toast and broth, I'll be right back," and Luke kissed her forehead and went downstairs.

Lorelai felt Luke knew best, as much of a health guru he seemed to be, and Lorelai forced herself to drink the juice, since it had been almost 8 hours since she ate anything…_Hmmmm apples…_

_Apples!_

It was then Lorelai looked at the amber liquid in her glass. The last time she craved apples she was pregnant with Rory._ But I'm not craving apples… Luke brought this for my stomach… he doesn't know about my crav… my stomach…_ and Lorelai's gazed lowered to her own abdomen, considering the ordeal it had put her through last night, and she wondered if there was a little Luke curled up inside of her, if her sudden upset stomach was …_ morning sickness?_ Lorelai recalled, _Rory and I are fine… we ate it…_

_Oh my God!_

Lorelai considered how active they had been in respect to the bedroom lately, and began to wonder if the night of their make up over Rory's Parent Trap/Marriage Dispute a few weeks ago was ironically the night in question. _We didn't really take… precautions… there wasn't …really time in the heat of the moment._

"Hey mom," Rory suddenly appeared and carefully came into the room; she was balancing a bowl of broth on a plate of dry toast. She had made it all the way up the stairs by herself, and it would have been a shame to drop the scalding hot liquid on her mother now. "Luke said you should eat this… and that I can't help you hide it or lie about it…" and Rory put the plate on the nightstand, moving the alarm clock to the floor.

Lorelai looked at Rory's sweet face, her first born, and she suddenly, inexplicably, became terrified of being pregnant again.

"Mom? Are you okay? You look… a little green"

"Umm yeah Baby…umm Honey", she corrected, "… I just… really need a hug right now."

"You're not gonna throw up on me are you?" Rory winced, having seen part of her display last night.

"No, I promise," and mother embraced child, wondering if she could do it all again, and it took all Lorelai had to keep from crying in front of Rory.

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When Luke came back up stairs, "Okay… I got to go to work… but you have Nurse Rory who is just a holler away…she's still working on her book lists and it's only July…" then he saw the nervous, "deer in the headlights" look on her face, and he couldn't understand what could have changed in 10 minutes. "Lorelai? Is something wrong?"

As Lorelai met his gaze she remembered her accusatory tone from before, _"You did this to me…"_ only this time it wasn't in jest, and she said honestly… "I don't know…"

"Okay? Well, are you … gonna be sick again?"

She stayed silent as if she didn't hear him, "Okay? Well, we'll talk when I get home …feel better," he brushed her hair off her shoulder and he kissed her forehead again, but she grabbed his arm to keep him from leaving.

"Lorelai?" Luke sat down on the bed, "What is it?"

"I think …I'm in trouble?" she said anxiously, feeling like she did back when she had to tell Chris about their news.

"Okay? Like mob trouble? Are men with tire irons coming?" when she didn't crack a smile, Luke sat down with her on the bed realizing she maybe serious for once, "What? Is it money? Cause I could…"

"No, Luke…" Lorelai didn't know how he was going to react. Sure, he was great with a fully grown Rory, but he still seemed to flinch when seeing squishy babies in public, or gripe when people left nasty diapers in the restroom, or if the little ones would cry in his diner, _How can something so small make so much noise,_ she believed were his exact words.

"Lorelai…come on." If she was in trouble or needed help he wanted to get it straight away.

Lorelai took a deep breath, "I think…I may be… pregnant."

"What?" Luke wanted to make sure he heard her right.

"I'm afraid… this, my upset stomach…might be…morning sickness," Lorelai confessed cautiously, hoping he wouldn't spontaneously combust right there, and all she'd have left of him would be his army green ball cap.

"Really?" _We're gonna have… a baby…?_

The smile Luke wore told Lorelai he'd be happy if it was true, and it was like dagger in her heart that she didn't feel the same. _We're not ready for this…_"I don't know …I haven't ... taken a test or anything… I was just sitting here thinking…and well…it is possible that we… you know…"

Just as Lorelai could tell Luke was happy by the idea, Luke could tell Lorelai was less than thrilled. "You … didn't want this to happen…" he paused on purpose to gauge her reaction, "…did you?"

"I don't know…I just… I mean I'm finally used to Rory, 10 years and I got the cool mom thing down…and well another baby will take away from my … attention to her, and you and me… we have a nice routine…we just made up… and well, we have an understanding about… our future… and Rory likes you… I just don't want to … add to the mix right now… we were taking things slow… a month at a time… I mean this isn't like buying a TV together… this is a person… a whole new living breathing totally dependent living inside me person…"

"It won't be inside you forever," Luke took her hand, hoping he could convince her that this wasn't bad news.

"Exactly… then it is out here in the world… another child to raise and change diapers, and … I just don't know if I can't do it all again…"

"Lorelai, it won't be like last time…you're older now, a little more mature, granted a very little… but you won't be alone…I'll be here…"

"Luke… I don't…." she was trying to find the words to explain it to him, a way to make him see her perspective. "I don't want this to …ruin us…like it did with me and Chris."

Luke's mouth was too quick for his brain, "Is that it? That I'm not Christopher… do you still want to be with him…?"

"What? No … that's not what I meant…"

Luke took a deep breath and raised a hand to stop her and himself from saying another word, "Lorelai… I'm sorry, that just… Look, I can tell we are going to have a fight here and are going to say some more things we don't mean … if we don't just… take a step back…"

_Take a step back? I'm already pregnant, the damage is done. We have to deal with this._

"We should… think about this…okay? I'm… gonna spend the night at the diner tonight, let you get your… thoughts together…"

"Luke… "

"I have to get to work…" he had to get out of there before his temper got the better of him and he said something else stupid. He was upset and hurt; this could have been a step toward a real future with Lorelai. A guarantee for both of them that they would always be together, but she didn't want any of it, and it was hard to keep that inside.

"Luke, don't go…"

Just like that, Luke lost control again, and all the thoughts flooding his brain came out, "Oh now you want me to stay? Damn it Lorelai, you can plan you future with an inn that _maybe, someday_ you might want to buy and own and run… but you can't even give me a clear answer about our future? I have to take things a month at a time? And you just dropped this bomb in my lap? ... And you know what? I was happy for like five seconds, thinking I was gonna be a father… and then I saw the look in your eyes… and it's all gone… So fine… you don't want me to force anything on you… you don't want me making decisions for you…fine. This is a relationship, Lorelai… you can't have still waters all the time…it's not always going to be smooth sailing… and I'm sorry but I've been very patient… I've been here, invested in you and Rory, but it's always about you!"

Realizing he had fallen in to the pattern he had wanted to avoid. His hurt feelings were making him say things he should have kept to himself, "… Look I can't talk to you about this right now…this is exactly what I didn't want to happen … jeez… I'm…it's just … I'm gonna …go"

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The day seemed to drag on without Luke… and with his possible progeny growing inside of her.

Lorelai had been stunned silent after Luke's out burst. Her upset stomach gave her reason to remain tucked away in her room. Lorelai successfully hid any sign that anything was out of the ordinary from Rory the entire day. After a day of thinking, worrying, and pondering; A day of being too fidgety and nervous to sleep, but so tired she wanted to escape her reality, Lorelai finally could curl up in her bed to try to go to sleep.

Lorelai felt cold all over, and pulled her blankets up as much as she could, she recognized the shivers came from his absence from her bed. She had grown used to his warmth next to her so much lately. Lying alone in the bed, she missed Luke, even though he was just a phone call away, just a few blocks at the diner, she knew he needed his own time to process the new situation. The long day turned into an even longer lonely night.

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When Lorelai returned to work on Sunday, she tried to wear a brave, happy face, hiding her anxiety from Rory, Mia and even Sookie, her best friend. Lorelai skipped a morning visit with Luke; begging Sookie to make Rory and her breakfast. Rory missed seeing Luke, and asked her mom if they could go to the diner for dinner, and Lorelai's only answer was a "we'll see". With Rory's new talents in the kitchen, Sookie had her chopping vegetables and other simple kitchen tasks to occupy Rory's day at the Inn. While Lorelai's mind kept playing tricks on her and she would occasionally pause in the middle of her work, as if she thought felt a phantom kick in her stomach.

Lorelai was finally sent over the edge when the former concierge, Carly, brought her baby, Ann Michelle, in for a visit to show off the new baby. A small crowd of Inn employees and friends was fawning over the baby in the lobby; all the while Lorelai stared intently at the child. As the baby gurgled and laughed for her audience, Lorelai's sensitive state of mind translated it as mocking laughter, as if the baby knew Lorelai may be expecting as well. After a while the crowd shrank, and when Sookie was done visiting, she and Rory went back to the kitchen waving congratulations and goodbyes. Mia had a phone call, and it was down to just Carly, Lorelai, and the baby in the lobby.

"So how do you like the new role?"

"Huh?" raise her gaze from the baby to meet Carly's eyes. _I'm already a mother… what are you…?_

"As concierge… I remember when you were just a maid… working harder than anyone else… if I had to have a successor, I'm glad it was you."

"Thank you, Carly…" Lorelai was still distracted by the baby, again, "that means a lot…really."

However, Carly suddenly stood up, and Lorelai dared to hope she was leaving with the child. "Lorelai would you mind? My bladder still thinks I'm pregnant" and Carly offered Ann Michelle to Lorelai.

"Oh no, Carly really…" Lorelai begged.

"Relax, I know you're a little rusty… but it's like riding a bike I'm sure…" and Carly handed Ann Michelle over to Lorelai, and she went to use the restroom.

Lorelai held the baby, self conscious that passers by would think Ann Michelle was hers. _I hear you God, you can stop now…Jeez, all I need now is Luke to walk in and say 'well that was fast!'_ Each passing moment was agony, but she had to admit… the kid was cute. The newborn blue eyes were already fading to a dark brown, like Carly's. _Not our baby…his blue eyes would stay blue…_thinking of a little Luke again.

Lorelai snapped herself out of the daydreaming, she couldn't take it anymore. After Carly collected her baby, and diaper bag, Lorelai feigned to Mia that her stomach was bothering her again, and took Rory to go "home" but went shopping instead.

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Luke knew he couldn't stay away for long, it would send the wrong message that when things changed or got tough he was out the door, like Christopher. He wanted this baby, wanted to be a father, and wanted the chance to prove to Lorelai he was there for her… no matter what her decision was about the baby.

He knew he was right, that a relationship wasn't always still waters or smooth sailing, especially with a woman as complicated as Lorelai. He also knew that hanging out with Rory seemed to make him smarter. He recalled a quote from Rory's copy of the Count of Monte Cristo, how the count had advised the young Mondego;

_You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout as you did in Rome do your worst for I will do mine. And the fates will know you as we know you…_

That quote may have been a bit extreme for his situation, but Luke knew he was going to make this work. Knew he'd have his fill of storms in the future, and that Lorelai and Rory were worth every one.

That evening, he entered the house, and found Lorelai on the couch; she looked like she was unwinding from her day at work. "Hey…" he half smiled.

She turned her head toward him, "Hey" she half smiled back, straightening up, "I was… gonna call you…" and she cleared her throat, hoping she could go first.

"Um, is Rory here?"

"Out with Lane," she shrugged.

"Okay… good." Luke sat on the coffee table across from her, "Look about before… with the Inn thing and the future… I'm sorry, I mean, it's good that you're… starting to think that way… and set a …goal…it's just … it was too much at once… at first it was like good news… and then you were less than thrilled about it... and I wanted to prove to you that I wasn't gonna leave you just because you know… things changed …just when you need me the most like …like some people" he growled so Lorelai knew he meant Chris, "… and well, then it was like you were gonna break up with me anyway cause well…I'm not the father of your kid…well I am the father… of you know… the one you are going to have… but not the one you already have…. I'm…let me start over."

"Okay?" she had to laugh at his blundering.

"Lorelai…I'm gonna be honest… I want this baby…I'll do it, I'll change diapers and do the 3 am feedings …everything…"

Lorelai shifted uncomfortably, "But you are so crabby if you don't get your 8 hours…" Lorelai still thought his offer was sweet.

"Lorelai, I'm not going anywhere …maybe… when you're ready…we could make it official and get married…in the future…way distant future, no… pressure… but if you're not ready now… or if… you don't… want _it_… well," it almost killed him to say it, "I'll respect your decision… I mean… I know we could… you know… work past this…I don't want to lose you."

Luke was bending over backwards, again, just to accommodate her emotional baggage. "Luke," she had to set the record straight …again, "… I'm not pregnant."

"What?"

"Well, after you left yesterday… I was going crazy… you know… with not knowing… and being stuck in this house didn't help, cause well everything made me think of you… and today…" she laughed mirthlessly, "today at work… I couldn't handle not knowing… I couldn't think of anything else…so… I faked sick, and took Rory shopping at the mall in Hartford…and while she was looking at the amazing selection of Waldenbooks… I went to the drug store and… got a pregnancy test. I mean if anyone in town saw me buy a test from Doose's, huh, we'd have that wedding sprung on us right quick…. Anyway, before I could even take the test… well I got my period…" she winced, knowing Luke hated to hear about female troubles, and that he'd be disappointed.

Luke was in disbelief, all the signs pointed to one conclusion "…but the... morning sickness?"

"Bad Shrimp? Summer Bug? I don't know, my stomach… just needed to purge itself…" she shrugged, "between your cooking and the Feast of the Fourth Festival, I guess I did put it through a lot in a short period of time, I don't know."

"Oh" and Luke didn't know what this meant now.

"…and while I appreciate… all your offers… you know… to be here… and to leave the final decision about… the baby… up to me…but… I don't think…" the past made Lorelai tear up again, "I couldn't just… _get rid of it._" Lorelai recalled with perfect clarity the words Strobe Hayden used when discussing Lorelai's options during her first pregnancy. _She could get rid of it…_

"Lorelai?" Luke smiled, wondering if she was ready for him full time, if she was tearing because she was now disappointed that she knew she wasn't pregnant.

"…But …I'm still going on the pill," she finished quickly.

"What?"

"Luke… I don't want to go through this every month…I'd like to have some… I don't know insurance…"

Luke was quiet for a minute, "Would you ever … you know, want another?"

"Honestly… right now… I don't know…" and Lorelai could tell she wounded him, "Luke, I can't give you an answer…I mean... marriage… kids… that's all really long term permanent stuff…"

"Exactly… Lorelai I love you, I'm not going anywhere…"

"Then, please, Luke, give me time, remember when we said we were going to take things a step at a time… Well you are talking about two really huge steps… we had a near miss here…"

Luke stood and paced in front of the fireplace for a bit, then he said, "Lorelai… you want me to accept your perspective but you have to at least respect mine…"

"Okay?"

"Rachel never wanted kids, okay, just flat out 'no'…and when I was younger, I thought I was fine with that, but lately something about that gnawed on me… Now do kids drive me nuts? Yes… if they are undisciplined or ignored by career driven parents… but not Rory… okay… Rory turned me around… the idea… of us having another Rory… to raise together…like I said before… it's nice to think about…"

"Yeah… it is…" Lorelai agreed thinking of her elusive perfect family that she and Emily wanted so much, "Luke… I… care about you. I do… a lot… its just…"

"You care more about your Inn, your new dream … than you do about us!"

"Luke, no… please, just …"

Just before anything could be really resolved, Rory and Lane came home "Hey Mom…they are having a Spencer Tracy/Katherine Hepburn marathon at Black White and Red… you wanna call…Luke…?" and Rory noticed him by the fireplace in the living room, surprised to have been thinking about him and poof, like magic he was there. _It's like he knew._

"Hey Rory…?" he smiled lamely.

Rory was happy to see Luke, till she sensed the tension in the room, "Lane, I'll talk to you later…" keeping her eyes on the adults.

"But what about the movies…?" Lane cocked her head, oblivious to the tension.

"I'll call you later about it…family meeting," referring to whatever she just walked in on. When Lane had left, Rory asked the adults point blank, "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Lorelai scoffed trying to sound innocent.

"Bull," she snapped.

"Rory?" Luke was shocked she'd use that word.

"I'm not stupid…something has been off since yesterday…your sudden need to go shopping… all the way in Hartford, when you were sick," she turned to Luke, "and you didn't come over last night…" and Rory gasped, "Are you two breaking up?" Rory asked, looking back between them.

Rory Holmes was still on top of any funny business with the pair, it was silly for Lorelai to think that could keep things from Rory. Lorelai decided to answer for both of them, since Luke was leaving her to make final decision about their situation, "No, Rory, we are _not_ breaking up." She repeated slowly and clearly, so Luke understood that as a fact.

"Then why are you fighting?"

"We are not fighting…"

Rory knew they were keeping something from her, and that hurt, and she went to her room in a huff. Angry that they were still treating her like a kid, that they didn't trust her with the truth. Lorelai followed, and Luke hung back in the living room, leaving them to their girl talk.

Lorelai found her on her bed clinging to Colonel Cluckers, "Rory… we weren't fighting. Were we having a serious discussion?" she asked rhetorically, and answered, "yes… but we are not breaking up."

After a long moment of pouting, Rory finally said "Good."

Lorelai sat down on the bed, and sighed, "You like Luke, huh?"

"Yes, you could say that…" _I love him, _and Rory squeezed her stuffed chicken harder.

"Good, I like him too…"

"But you don't love him…" Rory mumbled.

"I do…I do love him…" but the words sounded strange and weak coming out of her mouth.

"But you haven't told him…" Rory's tone told Lorelai that the 11 year old didn't believe her own unconvincing tone.

"Rory… that's serious business…I don't…"

"What?" Rory sat up, and turned to look at her mother "You don't what? I thought you told people how you felt so that they wouldn't leave…"

"Rory there is more to it than that… I guess love is… respecting each other… unable to live without the other… it's like… magic…you know… like a grand epiphany smacking you in the head saying 'hello this is your perfect match'?"

Rory looked confused, "You mean after all these months, all the time you spend together, after all he's done for us… there is no magic for you? You haven't had that grand smack…"

"It's more… complicated… our situation…"

"Because you loved dad first?" Rory was desperate to understand the complexity of the adult relationship, much like she would try to understand a molecule of water at school.

"Well, kinda…? Rory look… I did…love your dad… but that was a long time ago… and well it's just… we weren't _in love_…"

Rory was even more confused, "huh?"

"Well I've never really been _in love_ … you know like the in the movies… I don't really know what it's supposed to … feel like…"

"But you and dad…?" _had me?_

"We had some great times…really, and for the time and how young we were… I did love him and care about him…but… I lost him… and you know what… I learned to live without him."

Rory was trying to follow her mother's logic, "Do you think… you could live without Luke?"

Before Lorelai could answer, Luke came in, "I called BWR, the movies start in 20 minutes… if we are gonna go… we'd better leave now."

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Lorelai couldn't tell you what classic Hepburn/Tracy movies they had played, she was too distracted. Rory and Lane were whispering comments to each other. Luke was holding her hand, but Lorelai could see he was still thinking things through on his own. Lorelai did catch some classic scenes of banter, and thought the match on screen reminded her of herself and Luke. A rough, quick-tempered man, who was sweet when he wanted to be, and a sophisticated, beautiful, smart-mouthed, sassy lady.

She and Luke would verbally spare, but always ended a playful disagreement with a kiss if not more. Luke would go out of his way to do special things for her, cooking her favorite foods, brewing the coffee before he left for the diner in the morning. Always willing to help with Rory, wanting to be involved, hoping one day they could all be a family.

Even Hepburn and Tracy had difficulty being together in real life. Sure they loved each other, but Tracy was still married to another woman even when he died. Even though Katherine was the one who won his heart and nursed him while he was old and ill, even though they never got to make vows and have the whole wedding hoopla in this life._ It was good enough for them._

Yet, Rory's question still prodded at Lorelai, and she had to ask herself, _could I live without Luke?_

Naturally, the independent spirit in her told her _of course_,_ naturally, it will be like old times._

But the question sprung up, would she want to live without him…?

She shook her head of these thoughts, knowing she'd never have to face that. Luke would always be there… he was kind, he was patient, and he was in love with her… certainly he'd give her the time she needed.

However, Rory's fear of a Luke and Lorelai breakup, unwittingly triggered Emily's criticizing voice in Lorelai's head, _But really Lorelai, how patient do you expect him to be?_

Emily's words always rang with disappointment, and Lorelai some how felt her own disappointment made Emily manifest in her head, Lorelai felt like she was letting Luke down, unable to commit to him, for some free spirit reason.

She pushed her worry out of her mind, and focused on Hepburn and Tracy.

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Over the next few nights, Luke and Lorelai never really finished their conversation. They would go through the motions of their routine, talk, of course, about what was for breakfast, about rain gutters, about how quickly Rory was breezing through her book list. There never seemed to be a good time to conclude their conversation.

Luke stayed over, but he was still in his own head and seemed to keep to his side of the bed since "the pill" conversation; it was almost like he was afraid to touch her since she got her prescription for birth control filled. Lorelai hid her new prescription with her other monthly feminine supplies, knowing Luke wouldn't go near them. She'd discretely take her pill after he left for the diner or while he was in the shower.

After a week of no real affection from him, Lorelai tried a ploy to be close again, "Luke I'm cold." Not waiting for permission, she rolled over and snuggled up close to him in bed, he didn't argue and accepted her in his arms. After a few more minutes, she asked, "You know Luke, we really haven't…" and she started to kiss his neck, "fooled around… you know… since I've been on the pill… which kinda defeats the purpose…don't you think?"

His thought process finally concluded when he sighed, "You know Lorelai… you don't have to stay with me…"

She stopped her tantalizing pecks, "What?"

"I don't want you to feel like we have to… stay together… if you don't want to…"

"I do … I do want to…"

However, Rory's assumption the other night only added to Luke's speculations as to why they were still together, "Lorelai, its okay… I mean if we are staying together for Rory's sake… we can just ... be friends… I can still be there for you and Rory."

"Luke, I don't think we could ever just be friends…" she snickered, and she nibbled on his earlobe, to make him forget his silly talk and that absurd notion.

Luke pushed her off of him, "Lorelai I'm serious… if you don't" …_love me_ "Want to be with me..."

Lorelai sat up in the bed, she seemed to realize for the first time. "Are you breaking up with me?" Luke seemed so relaxed, so indifferent, as if their separating didn't matter to him, as if this was inevitable.

"Lorelai, you aren't giving me a choice…you won't tell me how you feel about me… but you seem to like having me around to help with Rory… so if that's all you need… fine…we can just be friends…"

"Luke… I … I can't lose you… I don't want to be with out this… " Lorelai thought of Rory's simplistic perspective on love, and wondered if she did say _it_, it would keep Luke from leaving. She put her hand on his chest to keep him from getting up, and she could feel his heart beat; she had always loved it's comforting rhythm when he was lying next to her, even though hers was now panicked; she loved having him next to her; loved him sitting at her kitchen table, teaching her daughter how to cook; loved how he held her hand in public. Was Rory was right, did all those little things add up to Love? Were those little butterflies whenever he touched her Love? The way he always made her smile, even when he was ranting, LOVE?

The fear of losing him, losing moments like that, losing what they had became overwhelming… and she wondered how she could survive without his scruffy beard, his curly hair, his loving blue eyes, his touch, his scent, his coffee, just him.

Luke sat up himself, to explain his side of the story, "Lorelai…"

Lorelai cut him off, "I love you," before she could stop herself and she could tell he didn't believe her, like she was using it to bargain with him. "I know it's really bad timing but... I do… I can't just be a friend with you… you mean too much to me and to Rory. After everything, especially the last few days… you promised, you said you wouldn't walk away…"

Luke saw how unsettled she was by the mere idea of them going their separate ways, and Lorelai took his hand, as if her grip could keep him from leaving, to show him she was genuinely, speaking from her heart, he saw her eyes were filled with a real fear of loosing him and what they had. She practically climbed into his lap, as if sitting on him would keep him from leaving, but also needing to be close to him, needing to show him, "I love you, Luke, I do" she whispered in his ear as she hugged him.

"I love you, too," he said, rubbing her back, and he had to grin, "…more than the Fourth of July." He only smiled and squeezed her closer, wanting to hear her say it again.

She giggled away tears, happy to have his warmth beside her, and they settled side by side in bed again. As he spooned with her, Lorelai swallowed, hard thinking of a future with him again, trying to include him with her plans for the Inn, "Maybe… someday… we could have another …discussion…about…marriage …and kids…"she said shyly.

"Someday," he agreed, seeing she was telling him not to give up hope, "okay."

Lorelai was content just to be held by him, knowing now this was what love felt like. It was spooning with the perfect man in bed, his scruffy cheek against hers; his arms tight around her waist. Instead of the wistful pang of the last 10 years, there was a delightful swelling of warmth and caring in her heart. Moments like these, when Luke did something special for her or Rory, Lorelai thought she'd bust; and now, in his arms, Lorelai felt safe and warm again… like she was home.

They had a new understanding…they were in love.

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**A/N: original title…Prego, Luke Danes Style**

**Alternate title: I Love Fourth of July Fireworks  
Oooo hey Robotech anyone? "they are in love…"**

**A/N: prediction may contain spoilers!**

**You were WARNED:**

**I think when Jess comes back (cause he couldn't stay away…sorry see the X came back), and smacks Luke upside the head (you are so stupid man you have your Gilmore girl, you have your happiness right there… just take it…) and with that advice… LL will elope, which of course will upset/embarrass Emily …so everyone wins!**

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"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
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R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund...**


	27. The Love Bug

**TOP 'O' THE STORY TO YE  
HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!**

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. (JUST GIVE ME A JOB and we will call it even!)**

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: What if LL hooked up when they first met? What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**FEATURED BETA: localizy, thank you for putting up with my compulsive persnickety changes…**

**Localizy, _What Can I Say…_**

**A/N: I hope this was worth the wait!  
A/N: Dialogue borrowed from that damn Donna reed**

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**Previously on Gilmore girls:**

_**They were now in love.**_

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Chapter 27:  
The Love Bug**

Rory woke up suddenly; afraid Kathy Bates almost had a grip on her long hair, _it was just a dream. _As she regulated her breathing, and calmed herself down in bed still waking up to remember what reality was. She still didn't like waking up without school to look forward to; but she also figured that maybe she was like her mother and just not a morning person. Then, Rory heard a strange noise from the kitchen that caused her to jump out of bed and start to search for a weapon thinking Kathy Bates was still after her and grabbed her hairbrush. Rory started to regulate her breathing as a way to calm herself down once she placed the noise as her mother's giggle. It was strange to hear her mother giggle considering how icy things had been between Luke and Lorelai the last few days, which made both of them rather quiet around each other. The would deny anything was wrong to Rory, that they were still happy and together, but just yesterday Luke and Lorelai seemed rather professional and all business, _did you take out the trash, yes, did you install the extra towel bar, yes_. Rory cautiously walked to the door to investigate what could have been so funny to her mother if she was on the outs with a man who, in Rory's opinion, was her mother's soul mate.

As Rory slowly opened the door separating her room from the kitchen, she was the first witness to the pair. Rory was already squinting, having just woken up, but she blinked a few times to make sure she was really awake. She saw her mother in her robe with her arms snaked around Luke's neck, and Luke himself was pinned to the range top. At first Rory thought her mother was some sort of Vampire and was eating Luke's face, but upon further inspection she deduced that they were just making out in the kitchen. Again, this was strange considering the cold shoulders from the last few days. Rory was curious at what could have caused such a transformation, now it was like Luke and Lorelai had just emerge from the tunnel of love. It wasn't that Rory minded the display; however, the activity was distracting Luke from transforming his pancake batter into fluffy pancakes. Rory emerged from her room and shook her head, "I can't keep up with you two" she dead panned, and she sat at the kitchen table, resting her head on her crossed arms.

Startled by her daughter's surprise appearance, Luke and Lorelai pulled apart with an embarrassing smack "Hey honey!" Lorelai smiled, wiping her mouth as if that would have erased the passionate display from her daughter's memory. Rory thought her mother was positively beaming. Only Lorelai knew the glow was from all the electricity created by the "I'm in love" butterflies now in her stomach. It was like when she and Luke had first started dating, the attraction, the butterflies, and the eagerness to touch each other. Everything was funny, and they really listened to each other, eager to learn about the other and discover new things. There would be no living with them now, Rory figured as she hoped this display would lead to a more permanent arrangement with Luke.

When Lorelai had woken up this morning, it was just before Luke, and she was happy just to watch him sleep, to stay in his arms a little longer, to keep that safe and warm feeling. She roused him from his sleep with kisses and said "I love you" again when he first opened his eyes, and in the early morning light, they stayed in bed and made plans for a very special "I love you, I'm sorry we missed out our original make up date due to Rory's chicken pox, and for scaring you that I may have been pregnant but I'm not so everything's okay…by the way, did I mention that I love you" date as soon as possible.

Sure, Luke and Lorelai were in love, and they now didn't care who saw it, but it was still a little embarrassing to be caught by the daughter, "Did umm you sleep well?" Lorelai asked Rory distancing herself from Luke and sitting at the table with Rory, _I know I did!_

Rory mumbled, "Yeah."

"You want some breakfast?" Luke offered.

"Most important meal of the day," Rory shrugged, resting her chin on her fists.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked.

"Aw, I finished my book list, now I have nothing to read," Rory sighed.

"Well, that just leaves the great out doors…" Lorelai tried to perk her daughter up and share her good mood, "or have you forgotten, its summer. Swimming, we could try a safer picnic this time; or we could look for fairy rings …"

"Yeah, I guess."

"I could teach ya how to fish?" Luke asked as he spooned batter into the pan, but he looked up from the pan when he heard nothing but silence, he saw the strange looks the girls were giving him. "It was only a suggestion."

"Umm no," Lorelai posed, "Actually that could be… fun…" figuring they were always doing what Lorelai and Rory wanted, it was only fair to let the man she loved have a turn too, "What do you think Rory?"

"Yeah, I guess," still trying to muster some enthusiasm for the summer day.

"But… how about we bring our swimsuits… we could fish… if nothings biting…we could pretend we are the fish…" Seeing the glum look still on her daughter's face "Aw, Hon, there will be another book soon; they publish them all the time. I promise."

"Yeah, I know. Mom, you don't mind if I spend the day with Luke, do ya?"

"If it's okay with, Luke"_ I'd spend the day with him if I could._

Figuring it was only polite to ask him directly, "Do you need help at the diner today?"

"Probably, if you want you can work the register again?" he smiled, as he remembered the last time she had helped him before her case of chicken pox.

"I like working the register", Rory confirmed, "It's got all that money!" now perking up because she had fun plans for the day with Luke. "How long till pancakes?"

"'bout another five minutes," poking at the hot cakes.

Still, Rory seemed to fidget, "I'm just gonna check if I missed anything on my 'haven't read' shelf."

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"Thank you, please come again!" Rory smiled brightly at the departing customer. She was perched on a diner stool behind the counter, since that was her only duty for the day Luke figured the loss of one seat at the counter was worth Rory being comfortable. That and the fact that it made it easier for her to reach the high vintage buttons on the old style register. She had a clear view of the entire diner and most of the square out the window, hoping she'd see her mom come in for lunch. Luke left her in charge of the cash register, but from time to time, Luke would come over and double check the receipts, which Rory was all too thankful for given the sometimes rapid pace of her ringing. Luke got a few compliments on how adorable and smart his daughter was and Luke could only smile at the ignorant tourists and say "thank you".

Luke went to check on Rory "How you doing?" he asked as he went through the mid morning receipts.

"The people of Stars Hollow are sure hungry; they must really like you, Luke," then to her customer, "Thank you, come again!"

"They like you…Hey Rory, can I ask you something?" and he leaned on the counter for them to have a powwow.

"Sure"

"Which of my summer help do _you_ like the best?" Luke knew Rory was a good judge of character, and of course he wanted to make sure they got along with Rory. "I just, you know, want your opinion," because, God help him, Luke had come to value her opinion more than some of his fellow adults.

Rory didn't want to be a tattle tail per say, but since it was Luke, she knew she could trust him, so she was honest, but still chose to whisper, "Well, I don't really like Bobby. He keeps calling me the diner mascot… and that's annoying…"

"I agree, and you are not the mascot."

"Thank you," Rory nodded, and then considered the others, "Jen is nice… and Dennis hasn't dropped a dish, great balance!"

"Okay…thanks," he laughed, "You want some lunch?"

"I love working here! Free fries!"

"Well, you've earned 'em…" Luke smiled.

Lorelai entered the diner with her usual burst of energy, "Hello, Hello," smiling at the pair of them behind the counter, "Has he made you assistant manager yet?"

"No, but I am helping him decide who to fire when school starts."

"Wow, such power, such influence," Lorelai fawned, "Rory, Can you get me Bangles tickets?"

"We'd have to convince them to go on tour first…" Rory rolled her eyes at her mother.

"Well, now you have a good place to start…" Lorelai turned her attention to Luke, "Hey," she said with a devious smile and a different tone.

"Hi" and he kissed her across the counter. Many of the tourists thought it was just the sweetest display, though some local on lookers thought it seemed unusually longer than their normal greeting.

Rory now rolled here eyes, "When you two are finished!"

The love sick giddiness out of the way, Lorelai shifted to business, "Luke, do you think I can have lunch with my daughter? I came all the way from the Inn to see her… and you of course."

"It's 3 miles."

"Still I took the time and my jeep, to see her bright shining face…I almost didn't recognize her it's been so long…"

"You're just mad that I wanted to spend the day here," Rory piped up again from the register, the turn attention to her departing customer, "Thank you, have a great day!"

Luke relieved Rory from her register duties, "Okay, you're off duty… other side of the counter," he gestured with his thumb.

"Woo Hoo! Free fries!" as she hopped off the stool.

"Just put my lunch on her tab," Lorelai brushed her hair back, the way she did when they first knew each other but were still only flirting.

"You get your own tab," Luke warned playfully.

Lorelai narrowed her eyes, figuring she had to let him win some of the time, "Oh Rory look what I got…" and she pulled out a piece of paper from her purse, "It's your new class schedule!"

"Cool, let me see!"

Luke automatically placed a cup in front of Lorelai; _I've trained him so well. _As he poured Lorelai's brew of choice, Luke had to grin as Rory pored over the paper, "School's not for weeks" he concluded.

However, Rory didn't hear him, "Wow, sixth grade!" she said in awe of all the new classes, "It seems like only yesterday I was in first grade."

"Well you know what this means," Lorelai said enthusiastically, knowing of all the different kinds of shopping, Rory's favorite was "School supply shopping!"

"Yeah! Luke can I borrow your pad and pencil… I want to make a list!"

"I need my pad… I'll get you some paper" and he called over his shoulder, and went in to the kitchen, "…Ben!"

Turning to her mom, "I want Luke to come supply shopping with us…"

"Well, he doesn't really like shopping, he only buys food because Taylor won't let him hunt," Lorelai said sarcastically.

"Please… you can talk him into anything."

"Okay…I'll try," the butterflies in her stomach giving her more confidence in her abilities, well more than usual.

"Here you go..." and Luke returned with a blank paper, a pen, and a fresh order of cheese fries just for Rory.

Rory started thinking of all the things she'd need, "Mom, can we do the shopping this weekend?"

"Come on!" Lorelai exclaimed as if she was the child who didn't want to do a chore, "School's not for weeks, let's enjoy what remains of the summer," sneaking some of her daughter's fries.

"But I don't want to miss out; I want to shop while the displays are still fresh and not trampled on, and while everything is still in stock!"

"Okay, okay, but it will have to be Sunday though; I have to run a wedding and reception on Saturday," Lorelai was a little nervous about it, it was her the first in event she was completely in charge of, usually Mia was still there to correct and advise, but Mia was going to Santa Barbara that weekend.

"Ooo can I help!" Rory said very enthusiastically.

"Aw now you like the glitz and glamour of the hospitality business," Lorelai countered.

"I love weddings… is there anything I can do? Do they need a flower girl?" Rory figured this might be the perfect opportunity to help Lorelai see that she should marry Luke. After all, Rory did promise to make Lorelai come around to the idea. "Oooo, does Sookie need help in the kitchen? I am quite the chef you know ... I'll do hors d'oeuvres!"

"Sorry Hon, but we've got everything covered… I'll keep you in mind for the next wedding, okay?"

"Okay," even though Rory secretly hoped the next one would be Lorelai's and Luke's.

"Looks like you two will have to entertain yourselves…" Lorelai sighed.

"Huh?" Luke had just returned from a loop around the diner, not realizing he was supposed to still be following the conversation.

"Saturday," Lorelai repeated, annoyed he hadn't paid attention, "I'm running a wedding… at the Inn, so you and Rory will have to fend for yourselves, maybe he'll show you how to organize the storage room."

Rory laughed, as Luke double check, "You want your usual Tuesday special?"

"Please," Lorelai said with a smile.

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On Saturday morning, Lorelai was in bed, naked … again.

It seemed every night since she said those fated three words, they couldn't just quietly fall asleep; they couldn't just keep their hands to themselves. Lorelai didn't have to shift far, her and Luke would tend to stay close all night, and she pecked at his lips and cheek to wake him up. She seemed to be a bad influence on him because he started sleeping in more and more whenever he stayed at her house, and vice versa, Lorelai seemed to become more of a morning person because she got to wake up with Luke.

"Morning," he finally groaned, happy to be awake and with her.

"Morning" and she went right in to making a brilliant observation, "I don't know why I bother wearing PJs any more… I always wake up naked now…"

"Nah, it's more fun to peel them off of you…"

"Hmmm I like the sound of that…" and Lorelai kissed him again, but as usual she couldn't stop thinking, and pulled away "You don't think I'm a sleep stripper do you?"

"If you were do you think I would tell you?"

"Yes, because you wouldn't want me doing that if I was staying say at my parent's house…"

"Why would you ever stay at your parent's house?"

"Well duh if they kidnapped me…"

"Why would they kidnap you?"

"To brain wash me…"

Luke knew it was best to let her bits run their course.

"And why are you sleeping in, Mister?"

"Cause I have a beautiful naked woman next to me… and I'm not an idiot…"

"What about the diner?"

"I have the day off, remember. Rory and I are going fishing…"

"Oh that's right."

Luke countered "What are you doing up so early its 6:15 on a Saturday?"

"Hello I have to run a wedding… all by my self…"

"You have a staff of 25 under you."

"…but Mia is out of town. I'm on my own if I screw up it's on my head."

"You'll do fine," and he stoked her hair.

"I have to get to the Inn, and make sure everything is decorated, and keep Rafael on schedule…"

"You'll do fine", Luke repeated, and kissed her to melt away her worries and infuse her with confidence.

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Despite her vocal wish to take things slow with Luke, preparing the Anderson-Bennett wedding made Lorelai think about her own romance. As she decorated the Inn and arranged flowers, she would daydream of marrying Luke. What would it be like to be a wife?_ To be his wife? Probably like it is now… he sleeps over, we have fantastic sex, and he's a good role model for Rory…_ _There's no harm in day dreaming,_ she convinced herself. After all, she does love him… could he be the one? Would she marry him eventually anyway? Luke was right there… in front of her for the taking… he was the first one to bring marriage up after only dating a few months, usually guys are terrified for the prospect of being tied down, but something still kept Lorelai dragging her feet, despite the delightful fantasies of what her wedding would look like. _Maybe we could have it here… at the Inn._

Maybe it was the prospect of telling her parents_… maybe because it will be really hard to hide Luke from Emily for a good 30 to 40 years._ Maybe it was just the finality…of the ceremony, _forsaking all others… _

Lorelai pushed the thoughts out of her head, to focus on the couple that was getting married that day. Knowing her day would come… and just having that happy gut feeling, the lovesick butterflies quietly telling Lorelai Luke was indeed the one.

She smiled at how Luke and Rory were spending a day with out her, finding the perfect time to go fishing on the summer day.

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By Noon, Lorelai had finished preparations at the inn and had come home to change clothes. Just as she fixed her last piece of jewelry, and was gathering her purse and shoes together, Rory came in the front door.

"Hey" Lorelai greeted brightly, "Hon how was fish…"

Before Lorelai could finish her sentence Rory was in her room and closed the door, a few beats later Luke came in the front door and put his rods and tackle box down in the foyer, and breezed past Lorelai eager to speak with The Door.

"Rory… please open up… I'm sorry…"

"What happened?" Lorelai asked.

Luke looked as though reliving it for Lorelai's sake was the last thing he wanted to do, but he explained, "Well, I took her fishing… and she was pretty good at it… she caught two fish all by herself… but then…" Luke trailed off, gaining the courage to tell his girlfriend how he had upset her daughter, "Well I was showing her how to scale and clean the fish…"

"Oh Luke" Lorelai knew where this was going, and saw that maybe Luke still had a lot to learn about handling young girls.

"I didn't know she'd get so upset, and I told her that's why we don't name the fish…"

"She named them… and you killed and gutted them? Right in front of her?"

Luke defended himself to his girlfriend, "I didn't mean to..." and then he addressed the door again, "I didn't mean to upset you, Rory … Its part of the process… Please… come on open up…"

Lorelai didn't want Luke to shoot himself in the foot again, "Why don't you take a walk, I'll talk to her…"

"But you're gonna be late…"

"What's a few minutes" she shrugged, "…go… just once around the block…"

Reluctantly, Luke left, but iterated once more, "I am sorry, Lorelai."

"I know baby… just one lap is all I need."

Lorelai knocked, on the door, and tested the handle to see that Rory had left it unlocked, Luke had been so busy to apologize and was respecting Rory's space, he hadn't thought to try the door.

Rory was cuddling with Colonel Cluckers again.

"Honey, he was just trying to share… all aspects of fishing with you…"

"I know… I'm more upset over you know, the fish dying…than I am with Luke…you know" _actually killing them _"I mean, I know that has to happen… and I'm not gonna go all crazy vegan on you… it's just… I don't think I want to see that…ever again."

"Sure, who does… that's why we have fellas like Luke who are willing to do all the gross stuff for us," _Which reminds me, I have to ask him to clean out the rain gutters._

"I like having him around," Rory hinted, hoping it was subtle enough to just creep into her mother's subconscious and have her make the arrangement more permanent.

"Yeah me too," Lorelai agreed. Lorelai waited with Rory for Luke to return from his walk. Lorelai smoothed her daughter's hair, "You know you don't have to like everything Luke likes. I mean you guys have common ground with you working in the diner… and with cooking…"

"Yeah, I guess"

Rory deduced, "Maybe I was trying too hard."

"Oh, I don't know… you're pretty likable," Lorelai smoothed Rory's hair.

Lorelai waited for Luke to return and the pair heard his heavy steps behind them a few minutes later.

Luke offered a shy "Hey" as he came into the room. He knelt in front of Rory, holding a book in his hand, "Rory… I am sorry… and you know… you don't have to like everything I like. I just … you know wanted to share something else with you, see if you did like it…it's always… you know smart to try new things."

Lorelai laughed at how that sound coming from a man so set in his was.

Rory smiled, "I liked hanging out with you… and the actual fishing… was sorta fun… I just didn't like… you know, fish guts…" Rory winced with a wrinkle of her nose.

"Well, I'll handle that from now on if you want."

"Okay…" and Rory came forward to hug Luke. Lorelai enjoyed the scene, and almost forgot that Luke wasn't Rory's father for a moment, for just a moment.

Rory sat back on her bed, "Luke."

"Yeah?"

"I don't think we should have fish for awhile…but I'll let you know… when it's okay to put em back on the menu…."

"Okay" happy he was off the proverbial hook.

Lorelai had to excuse herself, "Well since you guys are okay… I really have to go now…"

"Aw sure… well just hang out…" remembering the book in his hand, "Oh Um I got this for you."

Lorelai stayed to watch as Luke handed Rory the book, and Rory's face lit up.

"Persuasion! By Jane Austen?" Rory exclaimed.

"Yeah, you don't have that one… its sort of a … 'I'm sorry you had to see fish guts' gift…"

"Thank you!" and Rory hugged him again, almost knocking Luke over from his squatted position.

"Well, you're not Rory unless you have a book in your hand," Luke laughed happy she liked the gift. "You start that and I'll start Lunch."

"DEAL!" and Rory flopped back on the bed, "Okay… chapter one…_Sir Walter Elliot, of Kellynch Hall, in Somersetshire, was a man who, for his own amusement, never took up any book but the Baronetage…_"

Luke smiled that the 11 year old was reading out loud with a British accent. Luke turned and Lorelai caught his eye and she pulled him aside in the kitchen. "What do you think you are doing bribing my kid," she teased.

"What, you told me to go for a walk…so I happened to walk by the bookstore… she needed a book…." He reasoned.

"You are very thoughtful and sweet, and that is why I love you," and she kissed him slowly again.

Luke felt his chest swell at the sound of the words as Lorelai leaned into him.

"I have to go" she smiled, "We'll finish this later…" she punctuated with a wink.

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Seeing the white dress, first dance, and first pieces of cake, had Lorelai once again picturing it was Luke and her getting married. All the way home she was contemplating what song would be theirs.

"I'm home," Lorelai entered her house happy to kick off her heels, _Ugh I don't care how great they make my legs look!_ Lorelai could hear the TV from the living room, and decided to yell over it, telling them all about the wedding, "Well, we had a bit of a scare, when we didn't know if the bride was allergic to nuts, and Sookie was all panicked and brown bagging it for a while cause she's the one who made the cake, but then we learned it was just the Mother of the Groom causing trouble. Speaking of which, the ringer bearer, ugh, what a little monster I kept expecting pea soup to spew out of him any minute…he was just…" she stopped in the living room entrance way.

The TV was on; some late night infomercial had a new improved product to sell the masses. The light from the TV flickered to show Rory and Luke on the couch, sleeping. Rory had her arms around Luke's waist, hugging him tightly. Luke's head was leaning on the back of the couch, lightly snoring, Lorelai had to smile at the scene, and crept over to Luke, closing in on his leaned back head, she kissed his open mouth.

That woke him up, "Hmm Lorelai?" Luke strained to see her in the darkness.

"Hey" she smiled down at him.

"How was the wedding?" he yawned.

"Nice, they made it through the cake so… I think its gonna last." Suddenly realizing he didn't hear anything about the nuts scare.

"Well good"

"You okay? With your blanket there?" referring to Rory hugging him, and the fish disagreement from earlier.

Luke looked down, "Aw yeah," as if Luke saw her for the first time, "she fell asleep during the movie…"

"Oh yeah? What did you watch?"

"Stalag 17"

"Huh, don't think I've seen that one yet."

"It's good, we may have to watch it again, you know," pointing to Rory, still huddled up against him. Lorelai smiled and watched as Luke shook Rory gently.

Rory inhaled sharply, "Is it time for school?"

"No, you fell asleep during the movie."

"Aw," rubbing her eyes, and squinting from the bright infomercial, "Is Sefton okay?"

"You told me before not to spoil it for you… we'll just have to watch it again tomorrow night...with your mom."

"…but she'll talk through it," Rory complained, as she rubbed her eyes.

Lorelai objected from not 3 feet away, "HEY!"

"Oh hi mom," Rory yawned, "didn't see you there."

"Uh huh," Lorelai nodded, "just for that, bed, unless of course you don't want to go shopping tomorrow."

The threat of her beloved schools supplies being dashed; Rory sprang up and went to her room.

With her daughter gone, Lorelai took the spot Rory had kept warm for her and sat in Luke's lap on the couch.

"Hi," she smiled as she kissed him again from her new position. Happy to take comfort in his arms, wanting to take advantage of their time alone, wanting to remember the good old days of making out like teenagers, but her body was too spent from a day of tulle, candles, and rice. "Oh jeez, I'm so tired," and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Well, you work hard," and Luke rubbed her back, "You want something to eat?"

"You are so good to me."

"Don't you forget it," he warned with a grin.

"This is not fair… we are alone, and I want to make out with my boyfriend, but I'm too tired."

"Maybe you're tired from …" Luke trailed off.

"All the other times we've done it this week," Lorelai finished with a half smile.

"You can just got to sleep you know,"

"I can't sleep here…"

"Rory did."

"Well Rory's like a rubber band…she's still growing, contorting is not problem for her."

"You contort just fine," and he kissed her neck.

"Hmmm, Luke… we need a date…"

"We have a date …for Monday…"

"Good" Lorelai was drifting off on his shoulder.

Luke took her upstairs in his arms, knowing she'd need her rest for their school supply excursion tomorrow.

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"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
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R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund...**


	28. It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer****: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. (JUST GIVE ME A JOB and we will call it even!)**

**R/R****: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q:**** What if LL hooked up when they first met? What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**FEATURED BETA: localizy, thank you for putting up with my compulsive persnickety changes… **

**Localizy, _What Can I Say…_**

**No seriously go read localizy's fic _what can I say_…. read this first… then go to her's! PS THANKS FOR THE LAST MINUTE BETA on the afore mentioned persnickety changes!**

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**Chapter 28:  
****It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year **

Since Rory gave Luke her honest opinion about his help, he started giving Dennis and Jen more hours when they asked for it, and subtly was phasing out the annoying Bobby. Jen was a good sport, and after some last minute persuasion from Lorelai, she offered to cover for Luke so he could go shopping with Lorelai and Rory.

Rory stood in awe in front of the store, "Wow… a Staples."

Luke, Lorelai and Rory entered the chain office supply store in Hartford, for Rory's favorite type of shopping, School Supplies. "Come on Mom! School's only two weeks away now!"

"Is she always this excited?" Luke asked Lorelai, "it's like Christmas for her…"

"You should see her _at_ Christmas." Then it hit Lorelai as they walked hand and hand through the aisles, trailing Rory. _He will see her at Christmas, he'll be here for Thanksgiving…wow…_ and her chest filled with happiness again, having a partner, a friend, someone to love and share all these precious moments with.

Rory was bouncing through the aisle looking at all the different types of pens and notebooks and was obviously in heaven. Luke held the basket as Rory made her selections, since Lorelai knew how Rory would want to stock up, and Luke had the greatest arm strength of the three._ Maybe we should have just gotten a cart._

Lorelai began to wonder if she was being silly, making them wait for marriage. Lorelai watched as Rory explained to Luke her reasoning of buying particular pens and certain notebooks over others. "See this type is perforated… I had one of these last year… and I almost lost _all_ my notes… not a good idea for the big test."

Lorelai saw how he was really listening to Rory, how easy it was for Rory to take Luke's hand and lead him around the store; like they were any old, normal family, simply shopping for school supplies.

"Excuse me," a lady tapped Lorelai on the shoulder.

"Oh yes?" Lorelai had been so focused on watching Luke and Rory; she hadn't heard the woman's cart pull up beside her even with its squeaky wheel.

"It's just that … I need those makers," she pointed beyond Lorelai to show the display she had been blocking.

"Oh umm, sorry" and Lorelai moved out of the way.

The lady grabbed her twelve-pack but seemed to hesitate on leaving Lorelai. "I'm sorry, but I have to tell you your daughter is adorable."

"Thank you, I think so too… I think I'll keep her" Lorelai said proudly.

"And for her to take after both of you…amazing…" the lady admired.

"Both of us?" Lorelai looked back at Luke and Rory. How he was now reaching and stretching to reach the specific new pencil holder she wanted on the top shelf. How Luke had put down the basket to reach the item since Rory refused to let go of his hand.

"Okay got it… light blue…and look it has daisies on it!"

"Cool … can you paint daisies on my desk? It will match my dresser and bookshelves!"

"Sure" was all Luke said as he smiled down at Rory and put the new pencil holder in the basket.

As the lady walked away engrossed in her own shopping list, Lorelai tilted her head at the pair. Lorelai always thought that Rory had Chris' eyes, sure they were blue like Lorelai's but the shape reminded her of Chris'. When Rory was younger and Lorelai used to miss Chris, she would sometimes feel it was Chris staring at her… and not her daughter. Lorelai pushed aside the memories; she had new better ones with Luke to think of._ Luke is here…not Chris._ Lorelai rejoined the pair with a pack the markers for her daughter. "How about these?"

"MOM… the 28 pack offers more colors. Perfect for subtle shading and leading to an A plus display."

"Okay… 28 pack it is."

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When Rory had her perfect and persnickety school supplies, Lorelai insisted they get her some new clothes. However, Luke insisted that they save the clothes shopping for after lunch. He drove them to back to Stars Hollow, so he could stay at the diner and work and they could dilly-dally at their beloved mall without him.

As Lorelai sat and waited for her BLT cheeseburger, or the heart attack on a plate special, as she had dubbed it, she took in the familiar diner's décor. She just now noticed how faded and chipped the paint was in the diner, and since they were making changes, and preparing for the future, "Hey Luke?"

"Yeah?" he was distracted, since he was in the kitchen, and cooking, both Lorelai and Rory insisted that he cook for them, since Caesar was still learning Luke's secrets.

"Umm, the diner could use a spruce…you know…spring cleaning"

At her mother's observation, Rory began to look around the place wondering what was wrong with the diner, sure it was a bit cluttered, but in a nice way.

"Well it's almost Fall," he barked as he brought out their food, "you're a little late."

"Better late than never," Lorelai shrugged.

"It doesn't need a spruce," he growled, as he set their plates in front of them.

"Umm, yes it does…" Lorelai insisted.

"It's fine, now eat!"

"You mean my burger with a side of paint chips?" she dryly.

"Stop," Luke scoffed.

"Gee, I hope my kid doesn't get lead poisoning…"

"The place was tested for lead before I opened. Now stop," he asked again.

"Come on Luke… you like to inspire change, so lead by example… let me paint the diner."

"You?"

"Yeah, I love to paint!"

With a mouth full of fries, Rory chimed in, "She does. She's weird."

"Hey!" Lorelai defended, and Rory giggled.

"Maybe…okay, not now …"

"When?" Lorelai pushed.

"Not now… okay… just… maybe when the summer tourism stops… okay…"

"…But Luke" she kept pushing.

"ASK IN A FEW WEEKS, OKAY!… JEEZ!" Luke barked quickly.

"Okay?" Lorelai and Rory exchanged a look over Luke's sensitivity to painting. The girls continued to eat without talking, not wanting to upset him again, and attempting their mother-daughter telepathy to figure out what was wrong. Lorelai put money on the counter and they waved a silent good bye to Luke who was keeping busy with his other customers.

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After Lorelai and Rory returned from shopping, they found Luke in the kitchen with dinner already.

"Aw… good you're back," he said, looking a little shy and ashamed of his explosive performance earlier.

Lorelai smiled at the apologetic expression he wore. Rory nudged her mom, wanting her to check and see if Luke was recovered from earlier. Rory went into her room, to remove the store tags from her new clothes, but kept an ear out to hear what was going on in the kitchen.

Lorelai thought he certainly looked sorry for snapping at her earlier, with dinner all ready, in her house. Things were changing, Lorelai figured Luke now realized he couldn't withdraw and hide out above the diner every time something bothered him. He was here to explain and make up right away. "Luke?"

She didn't have to say anymore, and he confessed, as he leaned on the range top, "It's just that… the place hasn't been painted… since my dad was alive… he painted it when he first opened the place, and once more when the roof caved in one winter…everything is exactly as he left it… I've never … wanted it … disturbed. Well, instead of a workshop it's now a kitchen, and all the tables and chairs… and the mug collection instead of tools hanging… anyway… I just can't…"

"Hey, I know…" Lorelai snaked her arms around him to hug him. "I won't ask you to get rid of anything… that was your dad's," her tone seemed to tease that his own possessions would be up for debate.

"Okay," he smiled, "I have fried chicken?" he offered.

"Sounds good." She gave him a squeeze, "Are you up for a fashion show? Rory wanted to show you her new clothes."

"Sure."

"Rory…" Lorelai called over her shoulder.

Rory was out in a flash and hugged the pair at their waists, "I don't want to be left out of a hug!"

"Okay, dinner first, then Rory's modeling debut" Luke laughed.

"Please, we've been doing this every year since kindergarten," Lorelai smiled.

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Monday evening, Rory was finally going to be on her own for an evening just for a few hours. Rory was sitting on her mom's bed, as Lorelai was getting ready for her big date. Rory was there in an advisory capacity, and would look up from the book Luke gave her when her mother prompted her to look. Rory knew exactly what she was going to do with her time alone, she was going to spend the few hours sorting through her old clothes for donation, now that she had new clothes for herself.

Luke and Lorelai hadn't been out alone together nearly all summer, with pregnancy scares and chicken pox. Lorelai knew exactly what she wanted to do with her evening as well, but decided that she should keep up the pretense of dinner and a movie. Lorelai wondered if she could convince Luke to skinny dip on the summer night, or seduce him at the Dragonfly, which had been a nice fantasy since their first picnic of the summer.

Luke picked up his date and took Lorelai to Andoloro's, even though she wanted to go to Al's Pancake World for his South of the Border Special, which Luke wanted to avoid at all costs. It was almost like their first date again, except Lorelai was being a little forward with her foot under the tablecloth. Luke's expression when she first slid her foot in his lap had been priceless and she wondered if she could hold in her girlie giggles. Lorelai started a game of taking guess at what the entrees were based solely on their name, Luke would check the descriptions to see if she was right, naturally she wasn't, which was part of the laugh.

Luke had tickets for an 8:30 show, which Lorelai happily went to. Luke treated her to her usual junk food snacks, but after 20 minutes of breathing in Luke's musk. Lorelai wasn't interested in the movie any longer. She took Luke's hand, and smiled at him that certain way. She silently led him out of the theater, not speaking even to apologize for stepping on people's toes.

They went to the diner. After a "cup of Luke", Lorelai took him upstairs for what they really wanted, to be alone.

Still without speaking, they kissed fervently, undressing each other quickly.

Making love was easier, or better… or different, yet the same, all because they didn't have to be afraid of those three little words escaping in a moment of passion.

"I love you" Lorelai exhaled in a sigh, as she watched him on his side of Luke's new double bed. In the darkness she could see a smile twitching on his lips at her words. Then she added, "You are turning me into a nympho… you know that…"

"Me? You're the one who's a bad influence."

"I can't help it I'm irresistible… I was born that way," after a few more quiet moments, "Luke… I'm really happy."

"Me too."

Lorelai cuddled and observed, "This is where is all started isn't it; the diner, your coffee, you being all cute and sexy."

"I am not cute!"

"Yes you are…and you were when you made me dinner here… on our second date… and we… did this" Lorelai played with the hair on his chest "… for the first time"

"Happy Anniversary…" and Luke kissed her.

She smiled contently as he pulled away, "Six months…wow, it seems like only yesterday… but … so long ago…at the same time…"

Lorelai was now thinking of their perfect situation, thinking of Luke being there for her and for Rory… always. She wondered again if they should just do it and make things… permanent.

"Rory starts school next week right?"

Brought out of her thoughts, she confirmed, "Umm yeah… Now you have to admit, _she_ is cute… she's already picked out her outfit for her first day from our shopping trip."

"…and her birthday is in October, right?"

Lorelai thought that was funny, "Yeah, the 27th"

"Okay"

Lorelai could tell he was thinking, "Luke…?"

"I just want to get her something she'll really like…"

"It's two months away…"

"I know… but I want get ready for it, I have to start thinking now cause she'll go through three books by the time school starts, and another three after school starts.

"Well, you seemed to do fine on your own…" Lorelai consoled.

"Hey she mentioned Persuasion and I skimmed the synopsis… it seemed okay…"

"Okay, but just remember I have to get her the best gift I am her mommy…"

"Alright…just start thinking…"

"Okay, and you know… your birthday is not far after that…"

"I don't want anything…"

"I'll be the judge of that…" Lorelai nibbled on his neck, and wondered if she could entice him for a round two, "Do you think we've had enough… quality time?"

"Yeah, I guess… we should get home"

Lorelai lifted her head, "Home?" Luke called her house "home", and suddenly she knew exactly what she would be getting him for his birhday, she had to hide her grin so it would be a surprise.

"Yeah… it's almost…" he picked up his alarm clock that he rarely used anymore since he now stayed over at Lorelai's most nights, "10"

"Wow… it's like a time warp with you… Who are you Michael J Fox? Does your truck have a flux capacitor and some plutonium?"

"Huh?"

"_Back to the Future_… we made you watched the trilogy during one of our first movie nights?"

"Oh yeah…" he remembered again. "I still don't understand if they saw him in like 1955, don't his parents wonder why he looks exactly like that their friend Calvin Kline or whatever…"

"Luke they only saw him for a week, like 30 years before hand … and the fact that it was such a long time span quells any doubts of whom Marty's father is," she had to explain to him again, "Okay…" Lorelai sat up, with the sheet around her, "Now, where are my clothes.?

Luke laughed as he ran a hand down her bareback, "I'm gonna guess on the floor," recalling how furiously they undressed.

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The final days till school flew by. Rory was still splitting time between the Diner and the Inn. Luke was now letting Rory double check her own receipts.

"Okay… Lunch time," Luke tapped Rory on the shoulder, she smiled as he delivered, a tuna melt to someone to the opposite side of the counter, and Rory thought about what she wanted for her own lunch. _Definitely not Tuna._

"Could I have a burger, please?"

"With cheese and bacon, and a side of fries…" knowing she was just like her mother. "Hey, you wanna go to the book store while I cook? Maybe they have something new," he enticed.

"But I'm still reading Persuasion?"

"With how quickly you go through books…"

"…But school is starting up soon…I'll have to focus on that?"

"Well, you always have a 'recreational read'," As Rory called it, "You are just going across the square, by the time you get back your lunch will be ready…here" and Luke pulled out his wallet and gave her a twenty.

"Luke, I can't take your money."

"You've been helping me all summer, you've earned it…"

Rory still hesitated, "Umm okay…"

"Take 15 minutes look around the bookstore and you're lunch will be ready okay?"

"Okay…" Rory said in a small voice.

Rory walked quickly to the bookstore… and felt like all eyes were on her, like she was committing some awful crime and everyone knew it. _I'm only doing what Luke told me to do… surely I wouldn't get in trouble for that._

She still quickened her pace to get the crime over with. She looked through the bookstore with a guilty conscience, the twenty clenched in her pocket and when Andrew finally asked if he could help… she blurted out, "Can I use your phone?"

"Umm sure…" and Andrew gestured behind the counter.

At the Independence Inn, Lorelai answered the phone, "Independence Inn, this is Lorelai speaking…"

"Mom, Luke gave me a twenty and I told me to go to the bookstore and buy a book and I don't know what to do!" Rory said in one breath.

"What? Rory…say that again?"

"Luke gave me money... and he said I earned it… and to buy a book since I was out of books at home, well not out but you know... I read them all… and I'm still reading Persuasion but I feel weird. You always give me my book money… and well I don't know what to do…"

"Umm, okay well… if Luke said it was okay… I'd say… buy a book…"

"…But it's weird. It's Luke's money… I know I work the register…"

"Well maybe he felt you deserved something for working so hard."

"That's what he said… but it's his money..."

"Rory it's okay, just pick out a book, let him… do this for you okay? You didn't mind with Persuasion… "

"But that was a gift… an 'I'm sorry' gift… this is … for no reason…"

"Rory there is a reason, he knows you are gonna be done Persuasion soon and he wants you to have a back up …"

"But I will have school soon."

"Then consider it back to school treat."

"Mom!"

"Rory, it's fine. It would be rude to refuse."

"Well, maybe you could pay him back…"

"I'm not going to pay him back for a gift he offered. Relax and pick out a book," Lorelai had to laugh as she hung up the phone.

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"What a day!" Luke exhaled as he plopped on Lorelai's couch.

"You said it," and Rory plopped next to him. "Thank you for the book Luke…"

Luke gave her a funny look, "You're welcome… again…" She had been thanking him all afternoon and wondered if something was up. She still was holding the book but she hadn't cracked it or Persuasion open all afternoon. "Hey Lorelai? I don't feel much like cooking …after today… is take out okay?"

"You have to ask?"

"Okay…hey there's some money in my wallet… I don't know how much you usually carry on you."

That caught Lorelai off guard, she was perfectly able to pay for food herself, but the mere invitation, the trust he had in her to go in his wallet and borrow money. "Oh ... okay?"

She saw his wallet on the desk; he had gotten in to the habit of removing it from his jeans when he came home…that is to Lorelai's house, and would put it on the desk by the phone.

"I'm just gonna … look through the menus…. and see what I feel like, okay? We can decide on the top three," and Lorelai grabbed his wallet and her purse and went into the kitchen.

_Rory said he gave her a twenty_. Lorelai pulled out a twenty from her purse and was going to put it in his wallet, to pay him back for Rory's book, and then she was going to pay for the take out herself. _I can take care of myself and my kid._

She didn't know where these thoughts came from, if they stemmed from Rory's own fears of taking Luke's money, or from Lorelai's Gilmore pride, she just knew she had to do this. She opened his wallet and was about to put her twenty into his billfold when she saw something peeking out of one of the credit card sleeves.

With her money still in her hand, she slide out the small scrap of paper, and her heart ached. She saw her own hand writing on the piece of newspaper, _you will meet an annoying woman today, give her coffee and she'll go away. _It was the horoscope she had given him the day they met. He still had it, tucked in his wallet, as she had instructed, carrying it around for luck, for the last six months.

Lorelai took a heavy breath and was truly touched; as she looked in the direction of the living room, then back at the paper. She knew then she was being silly. Luke loved her… he wanted to take care of her and Rory… and sharing expenses was part of that… part of married life. There was no attack on pride or competency, just love and caring wanting what was best for their unique…_family._

Luke suddenly came in kitchen, "Hey, can we avoid another pizza…?"

"Oh umm I was thinking Chinese…"

"Sure," seeing her staring at his wallet, "What's wrong?"

"Oh well, I saw…" she swallowed her honest sentence, "Umm, I thought we could you know split it…" uselessly holding up her twenty and his wallet.

"Sure… whatever…" seeing something in her eyes, "What's wrong?" he repeated.

Lorelai was still looking at the paper, peeking out of the small pocket, and smiled, "You kept it in your wallet."

"What?"

"The horoscope… the one I gave you …when we met."

"Aw yeah… you said it would bring me luck… and it has…" he leaned forward and kissed her.

When he pulled away, Lorelai's eyes were misty… "I love you… you know that right…"

"I think I got that impression…"

"Well, good," trying to keep stupid tears of joy inside, "so Chinese then?"

"Yeah sounds good…even better since I don't have to cook tonight."

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The first day of school had arrived, and naturally, Rory was the first one up.

"GOOD MORNING!" she burst into Lorelai's bedroom.

Luke and Lorelai both groaned as Rory opened up the curtains. "Come on get up or well be late!"

"It's 6 am…" Lorelai whined.

"Exactly so you both have an hour and 45 minutes to get ready."

Luke had thought Lorelai was kidding about how excited Rory would be, but now he was glad he had taken her advice and they had worn PJs to bed. Heaven knows he didn't want to scar Rory on her first day of middle school.

Luke made Rory a special breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes, and Rory pointed out to Lorelai, yet again, how she liked having Luke around. _Come on mom, take a hint!_

Luke and Lorelai both went to the school and Luke held back a grin when Lorelai introduced him to the teachers as her boyfriend and as a reliable emergency contact if she couldn't be reached.

The adult pair left Rory to the walls of learning, so Luke and Lorelai got back into his truck. Luke drove and Lorelai seemed awfully quiet. Luke parked the truck and turned toward her. "What's wrong?"

"My little girl is in middle school."

"Lorelai…"

"Next will be high school, then Harvard… then she will have forgotten all about me…"

"Lorelai…" and he pulled Lorelai over to his side of the seat.

"No, it's true… the more she learns the more she'll experience the more she'll see she doesn't need me…"

"She will always need you. Come on, I know what will cheer you up."

Luke led the way out of the truck, and as Lorelai got out, she saw Luke hadn't driven her to work… they weren't at the inn they were back at her house. "What are we doing here?"

"I'm the boss; I have the day off…"

"Well, that's all well and good for you, but I have to get to work."

"_You_ have the day off, too."

"What?"

"I asked Mia for a favor…in return I have to be the handy man at the Inn for a few months… which I'm sure you don't have any problem with…"

"Me? Problem? I don't see a problem" Lorelai smiled at the added perk of seeing Luke at her work for a change, parading his perfect butt around in his jeans while he hung picture frames and fixed door hinges for the Inn.

They went inside hand in hand, and as soon as the door snapped closed. "Here we go with the nymphomaniac tendencies…" as she kissed him again, suddenly happy Rory was in school and they had the house to themselves.

Lorelai headed up the stairs backwards, but instead of heading left toward her bedroom Luke had steered her right. Lorelai broke away from the kiss, which led Luke to go down her neck. "Umm honey…"

"Hmmm…"

"We are in the bathroom."

"I know…"

"Umm okay…do you want to be alone?"

"No."

"Okay then…?"

Luke met her eyes, "You don't remember."

"Umm no?"

"Remember when Rory got chicken pox."

"How could I forget...the scratching, the door, and that horrible book."

"You said you loved the new shower head…"

"Uh huh?" a small smiled appeared on her face.

"…and when Rory was back in school you'd show m e how much?"

"Oh… is that what this is?" she said with a devious grin, and it was then that she loved discovering new advantages to having a boyfriend.

"Yup"

She raised her eyebrow at him, "…And you say I'm the bad influence?"

**7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
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R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund...**


	29. Postcard From The Edge

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)  
Provider of QUALITY Fan Fiction**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. (JUST GIVE ME A JOB and we will call it even!)**

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: What if LL hooked up when they first met? What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**Luvz: I miss you!**

**FEATURED BETA: localizy, thank you for putting up with my compulsive persnickety changes…**

**Localizy, _What Can I Say…_**

**No seriously go read localizy's fic _what can I say_…. read this first… then go to her's! **

**A/N: I hope this was worth the wait!**

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**Chapter 29:  
Postcard From The Edge**

Lorelai sat at the writing desk in the living room, tapping a pen on the table top and simply stared at the piece of paper before her. Her only activity was chewing on her index finger.

The paper initially had Lorelai chewing on her lip… when they became chapped she'd pick at the dead skin, when her lip was too sensitive to play with, she took to biting her nails, after her nails were gone, so she took to just blatantly chewing on her finger and tapping the pen. She just sat, staring at the paper and thinking about that piece of paper, hoping Luke and Rory would come home to save her from her self-mutilation.

It was a postcard.

It was a postcard from Christopher Hayden.

Christopher Hayden … who was Rory's father.

Out of the blue, a post card from Christopher, Rory's father.

Lorelai had no idea what to do with the now offensive piece of paper.

What was so offensive about it?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Hey Lor and Ror,_

_Just wanted to check in on my girls. Here's a new address, not sure if I sent this to you already. The phone number is pretty permanent too. I guess school is starting up soon, right? I want to hear all about it. Don't hesitant to call or visit. Love Chris_

- - - - - - -- - - - - -- - -

The P.S. was his new phone number.

Pretty innocent, pretty straight forward, or was it? Lorelai wondered.

Hey Lor and Ror,

_  
What's up with the rhyming? Are we suddenly Siamese twins in the freak tent at the World's Fair? I hate being called Lor; can't you muster up those last two syllables?_

Just wanted to check in on my girls.

_Your girls? We haven't been your girls since… I don't think the collective two of us have ever been your girls._

Here's a new address not sure if I sent this to you already.

_If you sent us anything at all, I'd think I'd remember it; it's such a unique and rare occurrence; If Hailey's Comet came through my living room… I'd think I'd remember it!_

The phone number is pretty permanent too. Don't hesitant to call or visit.

_Visit? Hello you are on the other side of the country! You think I'm just gonna drop everything, because you finally gave me permission to visit you? We've tried the visit idea before, dude, and I decided that I don't like waiting at a "common ground" rest stop with truckers whistling at me and my five year old daughter, while you are three hours late on your motorcycle because you got lost trying to find yourself!_

Needless to say, Lorelai had worked herself up into quite an emotional state; hence her lack of finger nails, the only surprise was how upset she became; how she was still angry at Christopher for missing out on his obligation as a father. Upset over this sudden interest in contact, because they were doing fine without Christopher and _with_ Luke. She was still fidgeting like mad, adding her foot tapping to the rhythm. The postcard was so casual, as if he woke up and said, "Hey, that's right, I have I kid…oh well."

Lorelai was just trying to breathe deeply and stare…rather glare now, at the card. Tapping her pen and her toe, unsure if she should call the number and tell him off once and for all, or write a really nasty letter, or to just ignore it, the way he had ignored them for so long.

Lorelai was now working toward crying, or rather the struggle not to cry. Just when everything was falling into place with Luke, when she was ready to let go of the past, just when she knew she loved Luke more than anything, well except Rory of course, just when Lorelai thought she could make plans with Luke; Thanksgiving, Christmas, have a permanent future with his diner and her eventual Inn, then Christopher drops a line to mess everything up.

Lorelai didn't know if she should make contact with Christopher again and bring up all those old feelings and memories to confuse her. She didn't know if she should tell Christopher about Luke, tell him about how happy she was, and how Rory may one day have a step father._ How are you supposed to handle these situations?_ She didn't want it to come off like she was rubbing his face in how happy she had been, _and still am! _Lorelai had spent the day planning birthday shindigs and shopping for presents… for Luke and Rory, then the mail came. How could Christopher be so inconsiderate to impede on those forth coming celebrations?

Lorelai didn't know if she should tell Rory about the post card. Things between her and Luke were going so great; Lorelai didn't want to have Rory shove Luke aside because her father was finally ready to pay attention to her. _How are you supposed to HANDLE these situations?_

Lorelai didn't know if she should tell Luke. Being the new boyfriend, he was bound to get jealous with the only other man to have seen Lorelai naked suddenly back in the picture. Maybe worry about Rory turning on him, wanting her father back in the picture as she did when Lorelai and Luke first started dating, or worse thinking Lorelai would want Christopher back. _HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO HANDLE THESE SITUATIONS?_

"Hey Mom, we got movies!" Rory called as she breezed through the front door to the kitchen to start making dinner with Luke, as had become routine over the summer.

"Great," She said still distant, dreading but longing to be face to face with them.

"Rory picked 'em, so you are gonna have to explain how they are all related…she said something about 6 Kevin Bacons, how are we gonna get through six movies in one night?…do you know what she's talking about?", then Luke stopped in his tracks, noticing right away she was troubled, "Lorelai?"

"Yeah?" she looked at him, afraid but relieved to have something else, _someone_ else to focus on.

As he put down his bags on the desk, Lorelai noticed they covered the postcard Luke knew nothing about, and he asked her, "What is it?"

"Nothing… I'm just… I'm not feeling well."

That sent a red flag to Luke, "Is it…" and he almost didn't want to bring it up again, after the previous ugliness, but he leaned in so Rory didn't hear, "…the thing you were scared of … you know in July?"

"No…" she smiled thankfully,_ that's all I need right now… _"I'm on the pill, remember," she reminded in a whisper.

"Right, right," Luke honestly had forgotten, she told him once that she was going on birth control, and they never spoke of it again, but he knew sometimes even the best prescriptions had been known to fail. "Okay? Come on, tell me," he squatted down beside her, "Maybe I can help…"

_Oh trust me you don't want to help, _but smiling at his offer just the same.

"What is it?"

_Rory's father wants to be back in her life,_ "I'll… tell you later please. When Rory's asleep."

"Okay?" Luke patted her thigh, as a small comforting gesture.

Rory burst back into the living room and did a pointed hop right next to Luke with her arms crossed, giving him a funny look.

"Yes Rory?" he asked.

"You have my beef," Rory said with rolling her eyes at the obvious, since he still had his groceries on the desk, hiding the postcard from everyone, but Lorelai. Then Rory turned her attention "Mom I'm gonna make homemade stir fry, and guess what?"

"What?"

Rory held up a VHS tape, "Jump back, I got Footloose!"

Some how Rory knew just what would cheer Lorelai up with a "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon-A-Thon"

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After the movies, when Luke and Lorelai were upstairs getting ready for bed, as Luke came in from the bath room, he couldn't avoid the subject anymore. "Is it money? Cause I could lend you…"

Lorelai was lying on her side, but sat up when Luke entered, "No, it's not money," Laughing how he always assumed that first…thinking it sweet that'd he'd even offer, still too proud to accept his help in that regard.

"Did you have a fight with Sookie?"

"No," she said calmly, leaning back against her headboard, folding her arms.

He sat on her side of the bed, "Well, we've established you're not pregnant… So…what's wrong?"

Lorelai didn't know how to say it, it was a weird situation, Luke had become the father figure in her little family and Lorelai was starting to like that… she just didn't know how the family dynamic would change if she let Christopher back in again.

"Lorelai, I can't help if I don't know what the problem is..."

"You really want to know?"

"Yes, I really want to know," he assured.

Lorelai took a deep breath, "Christopher …made contact."

Luke's stomach tightened as he heard Mia's words again _…once in a blue moon, the absentee father._

Lorelai shook her head and handed Luke the postcard she had hidden under her alarm clock, for him to read for himself. She got out of bed, too upset and angry to sit still. Annoyed that Christopher could still affect her, still mess with her head, still make her question how happy she had been with Luke, and still wonder if Emily's picture perfect family should be together; if it was the right dream to hold out for. She paced about the room and ranted, "He's dropped us a line, again; fallen out of the sky, again; wants things to be different, again; is making all sorts of promises, again; wants to get our hopes up, again; will break our hearts, again…" she held back tears while Luke read the postcard. _Calm down Lorelai, it was only like five lines_. Then she began to gesticulate wildly, "…And I don't know what to do? I don't know…if I should tell him off… or if I should tell Rory, or keep it from her…or let her tell him off…" when she ran out of words, she sat down on the edge of her bed next to Luke, she hunched over, waiting for what Luke had to say on the subject.

They were quiet for a long time. Luke absorbed the casual and breezy message on the postcard again. Luke turned to her and voiced his honest opinion, as hard as it was for him, "I think you should tell her."

"Seriously?" she couldn't believe her ears.

"Yes, Rory has a right to make the decision, it's her dad." Lorelai shook her head as if she didn't know if that was such a good idea, or if she had the nerve to inflict the undue pain on her daughter, again. Luke continued, "You have always treated her like an adult, I don't know all the whole history with Christopher… but if you shelter her now… if you keep this from her, you are giving him undue resentment from his daughter, and if he does flake again you are robbing Rory of the chance to be justifiably angry with him. I know you want to protect her from… the emotional rollercoaster… but… she has to go through it…she has to learn one way or the other…"

"Luke…" she scooted closer to him, "You know… there is nothing, and I mean nothing, between me and Christopher, not for years now…"

Luke still had his doubts; he trusted her, it was this Christopher he didn't trust, but he appeased, "Yeah, I know…" as he tucked Lorelai's hair behind her ear.

"I love you…" she confessed again, just to remind him.

"I know," he said truthfully, looking her in the eye, "I love you, too," it was Christopher he didn't know or trust, he didn't know what motivated the postcard or what intentions were hidden in the hand written words. This was all new territory for Luke, and he hated it.

"Oh, why does everything have to be so complicated?" Lorelai put her head on his shoulder, and let him hold her in his arms, and they were quiet for a long time.

"Tomorrow… after school… We'll tell her… together," Lorelai decided.

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Luke kept on two of the more reliable teens, Jen and Dennis, as recommended by Rory, the part time help who were usually happy to work weeknights and weekends during school, so Luke was able to meet Lorelai at her house; to be there and be supportive when she told Rory about the postcard once Rory came home from school.

"Mom, I'm home," as Rory entered the living room, she found it suspicious that both adults were waiting for her by the couch, finding the scene awfully familiar, from their "non-fight" back in July, "Well, you two look serious…what's going on?"

Lorelai steeled herself, "Nothing, it's just we… well, we have some news…"

This is what Rory had been waiting for. Rory dropped her book bag, stepped forward with her hands clasped to her chest, gasping excitedly "Are you two getting married!"

Lorelai was stunned for a second and clarified, "Um, no…"_ why is everyone thinking like that?_

Rory jumped to the next logical announcement, "Are you… you know… gonna have… a baby?" she said with her head cocked to the left, as if that would help her see her mother's forming belly and future sibling.

"No," Lorelai had to nervously laugh at how her daughter was about three months too late for that one.

"Is it about my party?"

"No," Lorelai was finding it difficult to recover from each question then broach the difficult subject at hand.

With her excitement deadened, Rory went to the other side of the spectrum, "Are you two …breaking up?" she asked cautiously.

"No" Lorelai said firmly, amazed at how her daughter's curiosity and imagination made it even harder. _She should be a cop._

"Did Grandma Gilmore die?"

"No," Lorelai couldn't help but laugh again at the mere suggestion.

"Did anyone die?" desperate for her mother to just get to it.

Lorelai snapped, "Rory, please, could we stop the twenty questions…" Luke squeezed Lorelai's hand, to remind her to use a gentle tone and to tell her it would be alright. Composing herself, Lorelai suggested, "Um… just sit down…"

Rory moved her book bag by the couch and sat with her mother, looking for some sort of reassurance from either adult that the world wasn't about to come to an end.

After another deep breath Lorelai handed Rory the postcard, "This came in the mail… it's for you…it's from your dad," toward the end Lorelai's voice went up to convey excitement, to make her daughter see this was a good thing.

Rory took a minute to recover from the paper in her hand, and slowly read the card, she took another minute to consider the card. Rory's eyes darting everywhere but the faces of the adults before her. "I don't want this," and tried to hand it back to her mother.

"Rory, he wants to talk to you… there's a phone number for you to call whenever you want…we can put it on your bulletin board like before," Lorelai smiled warmly.

"So it can go dead again?" Rory chanced a glance at Luke, who had settled by the fire place, then looked down at her knees, "I don't want this…" still hoping her mother would take back the wretched piece of paper.

"Rory, you don't mean that," Lorelai knew.

"How do you know?" Rory snapped.

"Rory, he's your father…"

"He's never been a father to anyone, he's never around, he doesn't even know me…Luke knows me…" and she looked at Luke square in the eye, "I don't want you to go away…" she pleaded

"Alright, stop right there," Luke quickly sat on the coffee table and assured Rory, "I'm not going anywhere just because your dad is back in the picture."

"But if my dad comes… you'll leave…"

"No, I won't."

"What if something happens?" Rory was positively frantic.

Luke clarified, "Something will happen… you will be able to talk to him on a regular basis, maybe have a real… connection with him…"

"But… I have you… I don't need him."

"Rory…"

"No, I don't need him," and Rory bolted for her room.

Lorelai sighed, in awe of how things had changed. A few months ago Rory had called Christopher's old number, to get him to sweep Lorelai off her feet, away from Luke. Now, Rory didn't want Christopher anywhere near Stars Hollow for fear Luke would leave them. "I can't say I blame her, I don't have the best relationship with my dad… and well I turned out alright," _I guess._ Yet, deep down Lorelai still longed for unfulfilled respect and caring from her parents, she knew the void her daughter must have felt as Rory's door slammed.

Lorelai was about to follow, wanting to reason with her daughter, hating Christopher for putting Rory through this again, but Luke stopped Lorelai from even getting up from the couch, "Please… let me go…" knowing he had just the right perspective to get though to Rory.

"Okay?" Lorelai nodded, but followed close behind to eavesdrop on the pair.

Rory had left her door unlocked. As Luke entered her room, he saw she was curled up by her headboard, clinging extra hard to Colonel Cluckers. Luke also noticed as he rounded her bed, she seemed to quickly hide something she had in her hand in one of the Colonel's wings.

Luke sat down and gave her a moment to speak first, but he then encouraged, "So… your dad wants to talk."

Rory had never known the joys of having a father around, that is, until Luke entered the picture. Rory knew some kids were stuck with the parents they had, she had the lucky position to pick Luke to be her father figure, and now she wouldn't trade him for anything. "Nothing to talk about," Rory grumbled, "I don't want anything to do with _him_. It's not like I miss him…" she said in a tough voice.

Luke had to smile at how much the daughter was like her mother, "Rory, he's trying…"

"Well, he's too late… you know when I stopped looking for Christmas presents from him? When I was 7. The last time mom and I tried to visit him he was 3 hours late, and mom was so mad we gave up trying to see him, and he has never came here to see us… his parents live in Hartford just like mom's, and even though we don't exactly get along with them we still see them for holidays and things. He's never made an effort and now out of the blue I'm supposed to just forget all that…11 years of being ignored!"

Lorelai flinched at the doorway as her daughter's voice rose.

Luke still couldn't believe Rory was so young sometimes, he wondered if her advanced reading also advanced her maturity, but all in all, she was still an emotional, sensitive kid. "He's making an effort now. I know your dad hasn't been around much, but it looks like he's willing now. I know you're mature and all but, you are also 11, I just don't want you to regret this decision…I mean… I've been without my dad, too, you know… and if you have missed yours half as much as I've missed mine… well, I think you should give Christopher…" then Luke corrected, "Your dad another chance."

Lorelai watched nervously from the doorway, Luke was being the bigger man, trying to accept this unique family he had walked into, and give Christopher an opportunity to be apart of that family. Maybe that was part of the matchless bond Luke seemed to have with Rory, he was her only male role model, only father figure, and they had both been with out fathers in recent years.

"I don't need him I have you…" and Rory looked up at Luke with wide blue eyes.

Luke saw it there in her big blue eyes, Rory was offering him the keys to the kingdom, if Luke wanted Rory to shut Christopher out she would without a second thought, Luke would just have to say the word. In his gut he knew that was wrong… and selfish. True, Luke didn't want to share Rory and Lorelai, but he also knew that Christopher would always have a connection with the Gilmore girls. Luke also knew that allowing Christopher back in, inviting him back into their lives and consequently into his, would cause just as much heart ache and stress as if Christopher stayed away. It was a catch 22 for Luke.

"…Your father died…of course you'd miss him, you didn't have a choice…" Rory pouted.

"That's my point, you do… you can make this a new beginning, hang out with him… and spend time with him… maybe he's really turned around… maybe he's better now… how are you gonna know if you don't use that number?"

Luke did make sense; Rory had an opportunity he would never have again. _You never know if you don't try,_ is what her teachers always told her in school. After all, she tried something new and had learned how to cook, and she loves it, and as a result loves Luke, _but Luke was there to teach me how to cook._

Luke ended with, "Do you know what I'd give for phone number to call my dad. Just to hear his voice again?"

"It would be nice… to talk to him again…" she begrudgingly admitted, "I don't even remember what his voice sounds like," she had grown so used to Luke's fatherly tone. Rory shifted uncomfortably, "…but…you promise you won't go away?"

"I promise… no matter what, I will always be here for you," _even if Lorelai and I … break up…down the line._

"Good," Rory nodded, "cause … well, my dad doesn't have he best track record."

"…And yet, he is still trying. You promise you won't forget about me, now?" he countered.

"I promise," Rory gave him a meaningful smile.

"Come here…" and Luke invited her into a hug with his arm around her, and kissed her head again, "It'll be okay, kid."

Rory smiled at the contact, and put her arms around his waist and squeezed. Rory thought of how Luke cared about her, enough to let her real father have some time with her too. She thought about her mother's words of what love really was, how it was magic, and in Rory's opinion, Luke was magic to both Gilmore girls. It finally felt right for her to say, "I love you, Luke," she said softly, wanting to return the sentiment he confessed over the summer while she was sick.

"I love you, too," Luke felt a swelling in his chest which he knew was happiness over hearing the youngest Gilmore girl say those words. Possibly it meant more from Rory; she was the one he had to win over, who had hated him even before meeting him, the one he had to really work with, and now they had a bond that couldn't be broken, at least… he hoped it wouldn't be.

Lorelai seemed relieved by their hug, smiling that Luke had his own way with Rory. She didn't hear the last bit of their conversation; there were whispered words of comfort no doubt. Lorelai went to the living room to leave them in their private moment, seeing that she wasn't needed for the time being.

Luke's curiosity got the better of him, and plainly asked, "What's that?" pointing to the corner of paper that was sticking out of Colonel Clucker's wing.

"Oh" and Rory looked embarrassed, "Nothing…"

"Rory?"

She pulled it out and handed it too him, anxious for his reaction since she knew he didn't like having his picture taken.

"Where did you get this?" he asked, staring at a picture of Lorelai and him sleeping side by side, facing each other, Luke's arm was around Lorelai's waist.

"I took it with Mom's camera… when you stayed over for Misery week. We camped out in the living room and I woke up before you guys…so I figured…"

"Why?"

"I don't know… you two looked so cute together… all cuddled up… this is the best one of all the one's I took, and let me tell you, it was hard not having you guys wake you to the flash… I just … like looking at it… you two seem so happy together… I don't know… it makes me feel better. I usually had it taped on the side of my night stand… but when I was sick …you know, with the chicken pox, I didn't want you guys to find it so I sorta moved it into the Colonel's wings… and he didn't mind… so I kept it there."

_She took more than one?_ "You know… you don't have to hide this…" Luke smiled at her again.

"…but Mom doesn't know… I still have her negatives…"

"We'll just have to slip it in with her others… she never goes through them any way…"

"Okay," Rory agreed.

Luke made a note to make a copy of the picture for him-self to keep tucked away somewhere.

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**A/N: I'm sorry... i had to do it... come on! you guys trust me right? just trust me... I'm not ASP!**

**7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund...**


	30. Dial D for Daddy

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. (JUST GIVE ME A JOB and we will call it even!)**

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: What if LL hooked up when they first met? What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**FEATURED BETA: localizy, thank you for putting up with my compulsive persnickety changes…**

**Localizy, _What Can I Say…_**

**No seriously go read localizy's fic _what can I say_…. read this first… then go to her's! PS THANKS FOR THE LAST MINUTE BETA on the afore mentioned persnickety changes!**

**A/N: I hope this was worth the wait!  
A/N: 30? Are you kidding me? Thrity? I made it to chapter 30?  
A/N: I love alliteration!**

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**Chapter 30:  
Dial D for Daddy**

A few nights later, it was time for bed in the Gilmore house and Luke was sleeping over. Lorelai made it a point to wear something sexy… just for him. She entered the bedroom in her pale lavender nightgown, and crawled in bed with him, scooting as close as she could to Luke and he automatically opened up his arms to her so he could hold her.

There wasn't much pillow talk at bed time since the postcard arrived, just the silent gesture of their arms around each other to say, "I love you, I'm with you, nothing bad will happen" as they held each other, both dreading the uncertainty of tomorrow… and the result and consequences of Rory's phone call.

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The following evening, Luke and Lorelai left Rory alone in her room. She wanted to make the phone call on her own terms.

Rory was still hesitant about calling the number at all; she didn't know what she would say to the man who obviously had no interest in her. She knew she couldn't leave her room without making the phone call since Luke and her mother were waiting right outside her door. She wondered if she could wait it out in her room. Just 15 minutes, then go and say she made the call. She knew she couldn't lie very well and her mother might discover she hadn't called from Christopher, or worse…_on the phone bill._

Rory slowly dialed the number as if giving Christopher the chance to go out to the store or become violently ill and thereby unable to answer the phone. Rory caught herself chanting, _don't pick up, don't pick up, don't pick up, please, please don't pick up _as the line was ringing, but he did.

"Chris Hayden?"

"Umm, hello?" Rory's heart was thudding in her chest; the last time she was this unnerved, was her first time speaking in front of a large group of her peers when she had a presentation in her third grade history class.

"Yes? Who is this…?" Chris asked impatiently.

"Umm, it's Rory."

Chris' tone changed in an instant, "Rory! Hey kiddo, how's my girl?"

Rory furrowed her brow, already annoyed, _I am not your girl, if I am anyone's girl I'm Luke's girl!_ "Umm, fine… how are you?" she asked politely.

"Fine, can't complain… you know paying the bills…"

_I'm 11, how could I possibly relate to that? _"Sooo, are you still in California?"

"Yeah, its great here… lots of sun…when the fog doesn't roll in."

_The weather? You haven't talked to me in months … and you want to talk about the weather?_ It was worse than Rory expected. "Yeah… well, mom already can't wait for snow…"

"Yeah, I remember… so how's your mom?"

"Fine" Rory said shortly, wondering if she kept her answers short the phone call would end faster.

There was a long pause. Rory didn't feel like talking to him anymore, and she was already feeling guilty for the long distance charge on her mother's phone bill, _and for what… nothing… I knew this was a bad idea. _

Chris didn't know what he was getting into when he asked the standard small talk, "So… read any good books lately?" knowing his daughter was a bit of a book worm.

After the initial awkwardness, and broaching her favorite subject, Rory's tongue untied, and she was actually happy to talk to her father again. She told him about some of her favorite books, warning him to avoid Dorian Gray if at all possible. After the thoughtful gesture of Christopher remembering her birthday was coming up and asking what she wanted, Rory decided to share some of the memorable events that her father had missed "…and over the summer I had the chicken pox, Mom said that I looked like a connect the dots page, but she felt sorry for me and said I could eat whatever I wanted, so I ate nothing but mashed potatoes."

Chris had to laugh at his daughter's perspective on the illness, and wondered how Lorelai managed that for a week, considering she was only a gourmet of coffee. "So, anything else new?"

Rory thought about the schedule for the week, "Well, I have a book report due on Thursday, which is easy since I already read the book over the summer … and a test on Friday in Math. Oh and this weekend we're gonna help Luke paint," she said causally lying back on her bed.

"Luke?" Chris' brow furrowed, "Whose Luke?"

"Mom's boyfriend," Rory offered quickly, then as soon as she said it, Rory's eyes went wide, and she began wondered if she should have mentioned that detail. Sure, her mom wasn't keeping Luke a secret, and Lorelai didn't have feelings for her dad anymore, but did Christopher still have feelings for Lorelai? Would he be jealous of what she and Luke had? Would he come to town and ruin everything? A few months ago, Rory would have loved for Christopher to ride in on his motorcycle and steal her mom's heart away. As much as she had wanted her parents together, Rory didn't want Luke to go away now … despite her early reluctance to the relationship. Luke was great and he had done so much for her; Luke had stayed over with the slumber party arrangement for a week, he made the mashed potatoes Rory wanted while she was sick, built her bookshelves for her room, and even painted little daisies on them to make them girly. She loved Luke and as a plus Luke made her mom so happy.

"Oh… your mom has a …boyfriend?"

Rory could hear it in her dad's voice; the surprise "Umm yeah," Rory was now treading cautiously, trying to gauge Christopher's intonation over the news. "He's really nice, and he taught me how to cook…cuz you know... he runs the diner in town… and umm well, he's nice…" Rory didn't know where she was going with the conversation now.

"Well … I think that's great," Chris finally said.

"You do?" that sounded funny to Rory.

"Yeah and you like him?"

"Yeah I … Like him," Rory confirmed, _I love him._

"So what happens… you know when they go on a date?"

Rory was a smart girl and she now knew Christopher was pumping her for information, using her as his spy, but she didn't know how answer him. Rory looked at her closed door, wishing Luke or her mom would come in and say "time's up" and help her out of this situation. "Well, I don't know really… some times I go with them…"

"…but other times you don't?" Chris finished knowingly.

"No," Rory said honestly. "I mean, yes, they go to movies and dinner, traditional date stuff…but most of the time… Luke and I cook at home and we watch movies together… or we go to the diner… Umm, we go to festivals and things…" Rory was trying to sell Luke to Christopher; that Luke was a good guy and her dad shouldn't worry, but she felt all warm and nervous like she was betraying Luke and Lorelai the longer she talked and more details she gave. "Umm, I have to go… I don't want to talk too long... long distance and all…"

"Oh sure kiddo… umm I'll call you next week for another update."

"Really?" Rory couldn't believe it, but now she didn't know if he was calling because he had enjoyed talking to her for 40 minutes… or if it was the last 5 minutes regarding Lorelai and Luke that had piqued his interest. The whole time she was afraid that Christopher was going to screw things up for her and her mom; instead it was Rory who gave him too much information, and now Christopher had the upper hand on her mom's relationship. "Umm, okay, I'll talk to you then… Bye," she hung up quickly afraid she'd give away more.

Rory hadn't noticed her panicked panting, and knew that would be a dead give away something was wrong to the adults outside her door. She swallowed her fear and wondered if she really did do anything wrong? Her mom had said there was nothing between her and Christopher… not for years. Surely, he felt the same… _if he still felt anything at all he would have been here._ _Mom has Luke now… and they are soul mates_, Rory told herself. What was between Luke and Lorelai was too strong, something that could not be broken simply because Rory told her dad about her mom's relationship. Rory wouldn't let it be broken. She decided she would do damage control for now, and see what came of his next phone call. At that moment, Rory wanted to spend some quality time with those who were genuinely interested in her.

Rory came out of her room and both adults had mixed expressions. Their eyes on her Rory only gave a small shrug and a shy smile, as if to say "that's that".

"Everything okay?" Luke asked, seeing how quiet Rory was.

"Mm Hmm," she nodded,_ except I told Christopher about you and mom dating._

"Do you … want to talk about it?" Lorelai offered, "I mean it couldn't have been so bad… you were in there for an hour."

Rory confessed, "The first fifteen minutes was me working up the nerve to actually dial," she shuffled her feet.

"Still you guys talked the rest of the time right?" Luke asked.

"Yeah? It was… kinda weird… he sounds different."

"Well, he's changed a lot… you know, maybe his picked up the California lingo…" Lorelai smiled.

"No, it's not that kind of different."

"What do you mean?" Lorelai leaned forward at the kitchen table, concerned her old friend had taken a turn for the worse.

"Well, it's more of a 'he's not Luke' kind of different…" Rory observed.

Luke and Lorelai exchanged a look, "Well, everyone talks differently," replied Luke.

"But you've been my… male perspective for so long now… it's weird to hear from someone new."

"Well, you know how Sookie and I are different," her mom explained. "And Taylor and Kirk are different, It's just like that…"

"I guess. He called me kiddo," Rory winced, "I'm almost a teenager…" and she added an eye roll.

"Almost…" Lorelai smiled, "but not yet. It's a pet name… like Ror."

"I don't like that one either. I like it better when you call me kid," Rory said to Luke.

"There's not much difference…" Luke pointed out.

_There's a huge difference,_ Rory thought, "I wanna do something… together…" _as a family._

"Sure what?" Luke shrugged.

"I don't know…I'm happy with our usual dinner and a movie," Rory suggested longing for something normal with her parents; that is, with her mom and Luke.

"Willy Wonka?" Lorelai suggested.

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On the other side of the country, as Chris Hayden hung up the phone, he decided he had to meet this Luke. _After all, if anyone is gonna be hanging out with my daughter I have the right to approve, or disapprove no doubt_

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**DUN DUN DUN **

**TBC **

in light of recent spoilers… I'm updating again… STAY TUNED!

**777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund...**


	31. All Lit Up In Love

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. (JUST GIVE ME A JOB and we will call it even!)**

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: What if LL hooked up when they first met? What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**LUVZ: I miss you!**

**FEATURED BETA: localizy, thank you for putting up with my compulsive persnickety changes…**

**Localizy, _What Can I Say…_**

**No seriously go read localizy's fic _what can I say_…. read this first… then go to her's! **

**A/N: I hope this was worth the wait!**

**A/N: confession: I've had this chapter written for a while… like way back when I started this thing in AUGUST! I KNOW but I needed a good lead in…**

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**Chapter 31:  
All Lit Up In Love**

Chris was already pissed. He had gotten lost on the way to Stars Hollow, _stupid backwardly charming town Lorelai loves so much._ From his bike, the highway smelled like road kill and manure, no doubt from the farm country he had to drive through to get to the secluded small town.

Chris pulled into town with his motorcycle, and got some disapproving glances of his own from the natives. He parked his bike near the grocery store, and asked the man with the most disapproving look of distain for directions, "Excuse me; I'm looking for Luke's Diner?"

The bearded man puffed himself up, to no doubt show his superiority, and sneeringly informed, "Across the square," in a snide whine.

Sure enough, Chris saw a window that bluntly said "Food" in large yellow letters painted on glass and a sign reading "William's Hardware." Just to piss off the cardigan wearing grump, Chris left his bike in front of the grocery store, and ignored the cardigan wearing man's pleas to move the offensive vehicle as Chris walked across the square.

It was a very clean town; no litter, not a dog off a leash, and Chris could see clear through the windows of the diner/hardware store. He saw Lorelai and who he assumed was Luke putting tarps over tables.

Rory was perched on a stool organizing the brushes and paint trays on the tarp-covered counter. _Has she really grown that much? _Chris couldn't believe how big she was.

Chris just watched as Lorelai put the closed sign in the window, and propped the door open for ventilation. _She looks good too… in her shorts. _He took a seat on a bench to watch the show.

He watched as Rory held her nose and helped Luke stir the paint; and Chris had to smile at the adorable wince Rory made over the foul smelling paint when she needed both her hands to help Luke pour the paint from the cans into the roller trays, and had to neglect covering her nose. He watched as Lorelai explained to both Luke and Rory how to roll the paint onto the brush correctly, and proper roller technique for the walls.

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Lorelai was demonstrating the proper "W" technique to distribute the paint evenly on the walls to Luke and Rory.

"How do you know how to do this?" Luke asked the Renaissance woman he was dating.

"A few years ago Mia redecorated all the rooms of the Inn. I insisted on helping out," she smiled proudly.

"… Because you love painting," Luke finished.

"Exactly" she beamed at him for knowing her so well now, "Rory, Honey, do you want to do the trim?"

"I want to roll with Luke…"

"Well, rock and roll, baby," handing her daughter the roller brush. Lorelai smiled as she watched Luke do the upper half of the diner with the extended roller and Rory next to him doing the lower half.

Lorelai looked at the clock Luke had set up on the counter, "When is Lane getting here?"

"She's coming after her music lesson." Everyone knew that joining the school band was one of the few Mrs. Kim approved out of school activities for Lane and that she jumped at any chance to be near music.

"Boy, that Mrs. Kim keeps a tight schedule," and Lorelai started stirring the trim color.

"How did you get her mom to let her help?" Luke asked Rory.

"Well, we convinced her that helping you paint was a Christian act of charity."

Turning to his girlfriend, "You hear that? I'm a charity case."

Lorelai came up beside him, "Well, you're just lucky that these two dazzling girls came into your life."

Luke, looked over his shoulder at the smug grin on Lorelai's face, and agreed, most sincerely, "You bet."

For that Lorelai had to kiss him.

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"Aren't they just adorable?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Chris had been so focused on his girls in the man's diner, he didn't even notice the … shall we say, voluptuous woman who came up beside him. How could he not have?

"That merry little trio in there, they are sort of our in town fairy tale," she smiled sweetly toward the diner.

"Really?" considering his girls with the other man, "Is it a good story?"

"Oh yes." Miss Patty sat next to the "handsome stranger" on the park bench and the handsome stranger was surprised the bench didn't buckle underneath them. Miss Patty was always willing to use her stage history and dramatic flare to enhance her story telling. "You see, Lorelai, that tall young lady, comes from a wealthy family in Hartford. Well, in her teens she was a little rambunctious and, shall we say, had an indiscretion with her high school boyfriend. Well, that little one is her daughter … the result of that indiscretion… if you will. They have been living here since Lorelai ran away, at the age of 16, from her controlling parents to raise Rory on her own," her voice conveying the moxy and spirit Lorelai had.

"What about the father?" Chris couldn't help but wonder how he was to be portrayed in this little fairy tale or why he wasn't part of the magic that was displayed before him.

In a very disapproving tone, the woman stiffened up, "Well, he left the state shortly after Rory was born…"

Chris could tell by her tone if he revealed who he really was to this gossip he might not be getting such warm treatment.

"…And good riddance I say, and after all Luke is such a kind, sweet man, and he really loves them both so very much… we all know that."

"What's his story?" needing the background on the man who was so involved with his daughter and ex-girlfriend.

All too happy to keep the story going so she could charm this younger man, the rotund woman continued, "Oh well, he's been in Stars Hollow all his life, but he kinda kept to himself. Honestly, I think Lorelai has been really good for him. She gets him involved in town activities, and he doesn't really have any family."

"Oh?"

"His mother died when he was very young, his sister skipped town after her high school graduation; despite the fact that their father was sick. He had a girlfriend for a while mind you, but she was in and out of town all the time, I don't think he ever really knew where he stood with her. When William finally did … pass," Miss Patty said kindly, "Luke was all alone. That is when he really withdrew from the town, became more of a skeptic… well a bit of a grump, really."

"William, like the sign?" pointing to the William's Hardware sign.

"Yes, and Taylor's been after him for years to take it down, claiming it's too confusing for tourists. But people see the 'good food' painted on the windows, and seem to make the connection just fine."

Chris returned his attention to the painting trio in the diner as she continued.

"Honestly, I've known Lorelai and Rory since they came here. I haven't seen her as happy as she is when she's with Luke… and as for Rory, well we don't want to jinx it, but it would be good for her to have such a steady, reliable role model like Luke… should Lorelai and Luke… you know… make things more permanent."

Chris hadn't thought of marriage since Lorelai turned him down, and was now beginning to wonder if Lorelai had. Chris wondered if Fate knew there was a Luke in Lorelai's future and that was the reason she had to say "No" in '84. Chris watched as a young Asian girl went in to the diner to join the painting project. Lorelai and Luke let the girls start on the trim while they got some fresh air just out side, still able to keep an eye on the girls through the large windows. Apparently Luke was perfectly comfortable with public displays of affection, because he took Lorelai in his arms, and they were not doubt joking and talking in their tight embrace, occasionally peaking in the diner on the girls.

It pained Chris to see them together, to see how Lorelai was all lit up in love with another man; that he couldn't be the one to turn on that light that beamed out of her. He wondered how this would change their family dynamic, such as it was. Could he call, visit? Would he have to make small talk with Luke if things became permanent, as the large woman suggested?

Rory poked her head out of the diner, and Chris could hear her clear across the street, "Mom!"

"Yeah?" Lorelai had to pull away from Luke for the moment.

"We need you! Both of you!"

Lorelai smiled and took Luke's hand and turned back toward the door, and they went inside together to see what the girls needed.

"So what's your story, sweetheart?" the large woman cooed.

Put off by this ginormous woman hitting on him he simply stated, "Just passing through".

Chris gathered up his helmet from the bench and headed back to his bike.

Truth was he didn't know exactly what it was he was feeling. He couldn't really be jealous; Lorelai and he hadn't been anything to each other really for the better part of ten years. They were friends, they were connected by Rory forever, but did Chris really have a right to be jealous? Did he really have a claim on Lorelai and Rory that no other man could be involved in their lives…ever?

Chris didn't know what to expect when he decided to come to town. It's not like he was hoping that just by seeing him, the girls would want no one else in their lives. He just needed… he didn't know what.

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"What is it?" Rory asked, with her head filled with curiosity over the strange graffiti.

Luke had to smile, "My dad wrote that, when this was his hardware store, one day he ran out of paper… so he wrote the order here…"

Rory read it out loud "Three hammers, Phillips-head screwdrivers and three boxes of nails in assorted sizes."

"I've seen it from time to time…" Luke's mind was wandering back to the past.

Lorelai saw the far away look in his eyes, as he was no doubt flooded with memories of his father, "Hey girls… how about we don't spruce this particular spot, I mean I think our attention is best served elsewhere."

"Yeah," Rory and Lane agreed. Rory knew her mom was avoiding sprucing this spot for Luke's sake, to save the memory of his father. Rory briefly wondered what her father was doing at that moment in California, when he would call her again, if she had upset him with the news of Lorelai's relationship. She didn't mean to hurt his feelings, she was just being honest.

Rory and Lane went back to the large rollers and Rory saw Luke and Lorelai duck in to the kitchen for a moment alone. Luke kissed Lorelai as a thank you, and held her for a little bit, before rejoining the painting crew in the diner.

Soon Birthdays and Holidays would be involved, and Rory smiled at the couple, knowing just how much in love they were, and that nothing would break them up. They were too much in love.

**777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777** **  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund...**


	32. I Always Feel Like Somebody’s Watching M

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer****: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. (JUST GIVE ME A JOB and we will call it even!) **

**R/R****: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q:**** What if LL hooked up when they first met? What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**LUVZ: I miss you! **

**FEATURED BETA: Localizy, thank you for putting up with my compulsive persnickety changes…for this crazy PUB. She's the DAVID BLAINE of BETAING…and she's all MINE… MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! **

**Localizy, _What Can I Say…_ **

**No seriously go read localizy's fic _what can I say_…. read this first… then go to her's! **

**A/N: in avoidance of the FINALE, we decided to treat you all with this MONSTER UPDATE!  
you will be so overwhelmed you will forget all about the CRAP FOR CRAP! Courtesy of the Resistance! As Izy says, "for those that may not want to watch the drama of hell unfold; here are some distractions" **

**A/N: I hope this was worth the wait! **

**7777777777777777777777777777777777 **

**Chapter 32  
****I Always Feel Like Somebody's Watching Me **

In an attempt to help the paint dry and get rid of the fumes, Luke turned on the kitchen's exhaust fan and then locked up the diner to go back to Lorelai's.

"Wow, we are dirty!" Rory commented, taking in the four of them with paint splattered on their jeans, shirts and skin; she was thankful she took her mother's suggestion of wearing old clothes she didn't really care about. Especially since Lorelai had tried to be cute and start a "paint fight", which Luke admonished, till Lorelai landed a brush stroke on his ball cap, then he let her have it. Both Lane and Rory eagerly called boys against girls, but she got her mother a few times on Luke's behalf. A truce was called and they quickly cleaned up and finished the remaining work.

"I'd better get home for a head to toe Kim scrub down, see you guys later," and Lane crossed the square to head home and Luke, Rory, and Lorelai waved goodbye. She walked proudly home, as if the splatter paint was declaration of her independence; however she knew she would be eating tofu for dinner that night.

Luke had to chuckle again at the double life Lane felt she had to lead at such a young age, but he had to admit, Lorelai was right in that fact that Mrs. Kim could be a little extreme and restrictive, but was just trying to do her best to raise Lane. He looked down at his hand, a hand now clasped with Lorelai's as they walked down the street together, and Rory walked a little in front of them.

"I think all the names they give the paint colors are funny…" Rory said, recalling the swatches they flipped through, trying to find similar colors to what was originally in the diner, just a bit brighter and richer. "I mean some of them are normal like_ midnight blue_… or _moss green_… but they get weird with like _toasted mango_… I mean really… I'm a chef, how do you toast a mango? Why would you toast a mango?"

They came to a street corner, and Rory reached for the closest adult hand to hers, which was Luke's, she looked left, then right, then left again and the three crossed to head to Doose's market, after which they would head home.

Now that Luke had a Gilmore girl in each hand, and the painting hadn't been so bad, save for the paint flinging, he decided he could get used to this as part of his everyday routine, just being with his girls. "So what do you want to make for dinner?" he asked Rory.

"I think I'm feeling beef tonight."

"Better watch out, Rory, or Rafael will have you working as a line cook in no time," Lorelai teased.

"I think the child labor laws would frown upon that," Luke added. Luke opened the door for the girls, and was about to enter the market himself, when Luke stopped, and looked around at the square.

Lorelai was concerned, "What is it?" 

"Nothing…I just… I don't know…" He shook it off and went inside with the girls, thinking he was imagining the feeling that he was being watched… even though he was.

For a moment, Chris thought Luke had seen him, but the trio went in the store together soon enough. Chris wasn't stalking them or following them. He was just …observing them, wanting to see how close they really were. Rory didn't mention how long Luke and Lorelai had been dating. From what the voluptuous gossip had told Chris, this had been going on for a while. Chris saw how comfortable Rory was with this man, holding his hand to cross the street. Rory had said Luke taught her how to cook, and Chris knew the only kitchen appliance Lorelai knew how to use was a coffee maker, so it was apparent this Luke spent a lot of time with the girls.

Given their blue blood background, Chris and Lorelai never had to cook for themselves. That was considered beneath them, that is what "help" was for. They went to cotillion, walked with books on their heads, learned the proper way to set a cloth napkin in their lap, and to ballroom dance. Both Chris and Lorelai felt the lessons were ridiculous, for a culture of appearance and ceremony that was dying out.

Instead of acting with propriety, they would sneak out and sneak booze, and, well, consummated their kindred relationship as teenagers naturally did. Chris laughed at the memories. Thinking of how Chris and Lorelai got what they wanted, they escaped that world… made their own lives away from their parents dreams and laid out plans, only as teenagers they assumed those lives would be intertwined forever. Chris focused on "the family" again as they came out of the market. It pained Chris to see how well Rory really got along with this Luke character, treating him like the father he had never been.

Chris had to admit, she was adorable. Rory looked just like Lorelai at that age. She would walk and talk continuously and Luke and Lorelai would share their input for whatever subject Rory was going on about, and Rory would smile and laugh at their comments in return. "The family" stopped at the video store, then took their movie choices home, Chris still following on foot. As they approached the blue house at the end of the block, neighbors would comment on the trio's messy appearance, congratulate Luke for caving and repainting the diner, and let the family head on their way.

"What the heck happened to you three?" a scratchy voiced blonde called from her porch.

"We were painting!" Rory called back, "You'll have to see the new and improved diner!"

"Can't wait, Suga'! Have a good night!" and the blonde returned indoors.

"Night Babette," Lorelai waved.

Fortunately, there was a wooden area near Lorelai's house, the blue house, and Chris concealed himself so he wouldn't raise the concerns of the neighbors. He saw Luke and Lorelai settled on the porch bench, content to talk and kiss, and the knots of seeing Lorelai with another guy tightened in Chris' stomach. He hadn't felt that way since high school, when Lorelai and Chris had broken up over something stupid, as usual, and Lorelai took Wesley Marks the Third to the homecoming dance instead of him. It didn't matter; obviously they had gotten back together, because Rory was born a year later. Lorelai had gone out with Wesley simply to make Chris jealous and it had worked.

However, this time everything was different. This wasn't just after they had a fight, Chris and Lorelai weren't even together, hadn't been for a decade. This time she wasn't trying to make Chris jealous, hoping Chris would see another man's hand on her waist. Lorelai didn't even know Chris was in town. This was for real, this was grown up, this was mature; Chris could see it in how easy and carefree Lorelai and her Luke were together. They were comfortable, relaxed, and in love with each other.

After twenty minutes of watching Lorelai and Luke kiss and whisper on the front porch, Rory came outside, clean and free of paint. The young girl seemed to order Luke and Lorelai inside to do the same, and the pair went inside smiling and holding hands. Rory checked the bench for any stray, wet paint and she sat on the porch bench with a book. She was so focused, concentrating so hard, as if she would have been transported into the book if she just put her mind to it.

Chris wondered what she was reading and tried to recall all the book titles she had mentioned during their phone conversation. He enjoyed seeing Rory, just watching her absolutely absorbed in her fantasy world that he had forgotten about her mother and the boyfriend. Suddenly Lorelai came out with clean clothes, her hair still dripping wet, to tell Rory it was almost time for dinner. Then, Luke came out heading to the sidewalk, his hair also in slick, wet ringlets peaking out from a different, clean ball cap; Chris found that it was a remarkable coincidence that both had showered so quickly and easily deduced what they had done inside… together. Luke's departure seemed to unsettle Rory.

Chris could hear her clearly from his veiled location, "Where are you going?" as Rory followed Luke down the porch steps, trying to stop him.

"I forgot about this errand I have to run."

"What errand? It's almost time for dinner. Aren't we cooking together?"

"Rory, I'll be right back."

"But it's getting dark… what if someone jumps you…"

"Rory, it's Stars Hollow. I'll be fine; I just have to drop something off."

"Drop what off?"

"Rory, come on…" Luke smiled.

"Well, you can't go back to the diner… its got paint fumes…what if you pass out? What if you need help?"

"Rory, I'll be back. 10 minutes…I promise."

"Okay…" Rory accepted.

Luke was touched that she was so concerned and wanted to spend so much time with him, "Start up dinner, and whatever you do keep your mom away from the knives."

"Okay," Rory smiled and hugged Luke around his middle before he left, as became her habit when they parted ways now.

"I'll be right back," Luke laughed at why she felt so uneasy about him going down the street by himself.

Lorelai and Luke exchanged a meaningful glance at how concerned Rory was for Luke's safety.

"You're spending the night, right?" Rory asked him before he was too far down the street.

"A little louder, I don't think Miss Patty heard you," Luke teased.

Lorelai came up beside her daughter, and Rory asked, "Mom, where's he going?"

"He said he had to make a payment on a storage unit he has. Why are you so worried?"

"I don't know… I think I have that gut thing Luke keeps talking about…" Rory contemplated as she scratched her stomach.

"A stomach ache?" Lorelai was thinking of all the junk food the girls had acclimated Luke to over the last few months.

"No, that instinct thing, you know… I feel like…something is off or wrong…like…something bad is gonna happen…"

"Is it Kathy Bates again?" Lorelai hoped her daughter would eventually get over the thriller.

"No, this is …different."

"And you want to keep an eye on Luke?"

"Well, I don't want anything to happen to him."

Chris decided to follow Luke for his daughter, to find out where he was going and what he was keeping hidden from Lorelai and Rory.

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Chris followed a safe distance behind Luke, not wanting the new boyfriend to get tipped off to his presence. As he followed, Chris could almost swear he saw spots on the pavement, no doubt droplets from Luke's wet hair, further wringing the knots in Chris' stomach. Luke went passed the diner by and went around the corner. Chris wondered if he was cheating on Lorelai or meeting some unsavory character, if Chris would finally bear witness to the dark side of this picturesque town. Chris wanted to expose Luke's secret, prove him as the villain in this story and that this Luke wasn't the overgrown Boy Scout the town made him out to be.

Luke went up the walk of a house and knocked on the front door and an older woman answered with a teacup in her hand. _Has he got a Mrs. Robinson thing going on?_

"Why, Lucas!"

Luke didn't know why, but every older women of his acquaintance kept calling him by his full name. "Evening Mrs. Thompson just wanted to show you I didn't forget," Luke handed the woman an envelope.

"Aw, you didn't have to come all the way over here. I know you're a good one, Lucas… it's not like I don't know where you live."

"Yeah, well, thanks… I just didn't want to forget, you know…"

"You haven't missed a payment in 7 years… that's right… it's almost 7 years now isn't it…"

"Umm yeah... yeah it is," and Luke dropped his head, as if he hated to think about what the kindly older woman was alluding to.

"Aw, Lucas… why don't you come in for a cup of tea…I have peppermint just like you like."

"Maybe, another time…I promised Lorelai and Rory I would get right back. Um… have a good night, Mrs. Thompson."

"Oh, Lucas?"

"Yes?"

"Don't you think it's just a shame to keep that unfinished boat cooped up in that garage? I'm sure your father would be proud if you…"

"Not… yet Mrs. Thompson… I'm not …ready…"

"Alright… well, just think of that young girl of yours… I saw you two fishing a few weeks back…"

"Well, she didn't like fishing too much… maybe… in a few years…I'll work on the boat…."

"Well, I'd love to see it… I know how much it meant to your dad…and you know… a boat is a romantic place…"

"I suppose…" Luke was now giving Mrs. Thompson a funny look.

"That might be a good place to… ask that girlfriend of yours a certain question." Mrs. Thompson enticed.

"A certain question?" Luke repeated. Mrs. Thompson didn't have the finesse of Miss Patty.

"Aw, men are so silly… to get married, of course…"

"Uhh, we'll see, that's really up to Lorelai…" Luke smiled, "Good night."

"Good night, Lucas," Mrs. Thompson waved and went back inside for another cup of tea.

Chris saw Luke coming back toward him, so he crossed the street to walk long ways around the square, keeping Luke in his sight.

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When Luke and a concealed Chris returned to the house, Lorelai and Rory were waiting for Luke on the porch.

"Hey, how's dinner?"

"Done!" Rory happily announced, hoping he'd be proud of her new record, "Your timing is perfect!"

Chris grumbled agreement, _yeah perfect_. If only Chris had sent that postcard a month earlier… a year… maybe things would be different. Maybe it would have been him going inside for a dinner Rory had made. However, Chris knew it was all connected, Rory only knew how to cook since Luke taught her. Chris sighed, realizing it was getting late, and he had to figure out a place to stay the night, unsure if he could deal with his parents for even an hour.

"You guys go in, I'm gonna get the mail," Lorelai made her way down to her mail box, opened the box and began to sort through the mail as she returned to the porch. She was halfway up the walk, then she paused thinking she heard something in the woods, she turned around looked left and right, up and down the street. She felt it too, that uneasy feeling Luke had described in the market. She felt like there was a pair of unwelcome eyes following her down the walk. She was sure Luke's and Rory's gut instinct was just messing with her head. Lorelai shook it off, but hurried inside to be safe with her protector, Luke, again.

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It had been a week since Rory talked to her father, and the world hadn't come to an end. Wednesday night Rory was doing her homework and looked over at the phone in her room… again. She shook away the notion to stare at the phone, convinced her gaze would make it self conscious and then ring, but then she focused back on her paper and pencil. However her eyes kept drifting over, ears perked up, anxious to hear the ringing.

Rory had been waiting for thirty minutes for her father to call_ as promised_. When she first settled in her room she was waiting on her bed, ready to pounce as soon as it rang. Then, she got bored and started on making flash cards for her history test. She only made two in twenty minutes because she kept hoping the phone would ring.

Lorelai poked her head in her daughter's slightly cracked door, "knock, knock."

"Hey," Rory said shyly, trying to look as though she had accomplished so much in the last twenty minutes.

"Nothing, huh?" Lorelai said disappointed.

"Nope," Rory said in a tone that conveyed "I told you so."

"Well, maybe we have to consider the time difference… I mean… it's like…4:30 his time"

"So then he's gonna wait till I'm in bed on a school night to call! That makes sense! It doesn't matter; he never gave me a time… I just thought… this is when I called him last week… so…"

"Do you want to try calling him?" Lorelai suggested.

"I already did… three times," she confessed. Rory sighed since her heart was so heavy and conflicted, "Where's Luke?"

"At the diner, it's his night to close."

Rory thought about it, she wasn't getting anywhere with her flash cards, "I wanna see him… can we go there … for dinner…"

"He'll be here tonight… don't you want to wait for your dad's call…"

Rory looked miserably at the phone again and decided, "No."

"Rory…" it broke Lorelai's heart to see there was no hope in her daughter's eyes.

"He can leave a message on the machine like any other missed call…. I'm just … gonna go to the ladies' room…then we can go to Luke's," and Rory left her mother alone in the bedroom.

Lorelai's heart felt heavy for her daughter. She knew unrequited love for a father all too well. Lorelai picked up the phone and dialed the offensive California number.

"Hey, this is Chris; leave it at the beep…"

"Hey Chris… its Lorelai, I'm just calling to tell you that I think you STINK! Okay, you have a daughter… a daughter who mustered all this courage to call you again…as _you_ requested, since you said you wanted it! You're the one how finally reached out! You gave her this number and told her to call anytime! And what happened… you let her down… again! I don't suppose we can expect a birthday present to come from you this year either…. Or any year after… Look, even though you went to the other side of the country, I've never kept her from you… I never said you couldn't call or visit… we've moved twice in 10 years, once to the Inn, and once to our current house … in the same town… you, however, move monthly, it seems. I don't know what, after all this time, motivated you to drop us that postcard…but Rory had gotten her hopes up… do you even know what Luke and I had to go through to convince her to make that call last week…we went to bat for you… and you let us all down again… well, no more… don't bother calling, don't bother writing… if you want to see her just freaking show up!"

Lorelai hung up, and collected herself again, and she heard the bathroom door open.

"Ready?" Rory said from behind Lorelai.

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Luke recognized the glum faces that walked through his diner door. "Hey?" Luke was confused by the girls' presence, Rory's dad was supposed to call tonight, which is why he had arranged to work that night, he didn't want to distract Rory from her real father since Luke had only been a stand-in the last few months.

"Well, we were hungry… you have food… I wanted to see you…" Rory said giving Luke a hug as soon as she walked in, then she perched herself on the stool.

Luke greeted Lorelai with a kiss as she sat down at the counter, "We just couldn't stay away from you," Lorelai teased, covering for her daughter's disappointment.

"Umm okay, so what'll it be?"

Rory considered, "I'm in the mood for… chicken…"

Lorelai raised her eyebrow, interpreting Rory's order as a dig at her absent father.

"Sure" Luke said wanting to do whatever he could to perk up her mood, "Well, how about that coconut one you liked…"

"The oven baked coconut breaded chicken?" Rory recited verbatim from the cookbook she found at the library, referring to the recipe Luke had committed to memory since both Rory and Lorelai liked it so much.

"Well, the oven might take a little longer… how 'bout I fry it?"

Luke always knew what she needed to feel better, _like a Real Father,_ and Rory smiled again, "Thank you"_ for being like a dad to me._

"Umm, Lorelai could I talk to you for a second."

_Real subtle_, Rory pretended to look at the menu. She knew her mother would want to tell Luke what happened…._Hmmm dessert?_

Lorelai and Luke whispered just behind the curtain that separated the dining room from the staircase leading to Luke's apartment.

"What happened?"

Lorelai confessed, "He didn't call… so she tried calling him and well… nothing… but an answering machine…"

"Well, we could call again… she can go upstairs if she wants…"

"No… she tried three times… all we can do is wait…and see if he remembers or calls again, but for now she wanted a friendly face like you…'cause she knows you will always be there…"

"Always," Luke promised.

"Yeah, always," Lorelai smiled.

"Well, um, I've got get the coconut flakes…"

"Okay… I'll have the same… side of cheese fries for both of us?"

The couple kissed, Luke went to the storage room, and Lorelai went back to the counter with Rory.

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Chris had been staying at a motel on the highway for the past few days, a safe distance from his parents and less expensive than the Inn Lorelai worked at. He had been following the family's routine for nearly a week.

Chris had seen how diligent Rory was with her studies. Even when Lorelai and Luke left her alone to on a date, Chris was conflicted. He wanted to stay and watch over his daughter, since Lorelai felt it was okay to leave an 11 year old by her self. Chris strained to remember what age he was finally left alone… if at all, there were always servants bustling around the place.

On this night, Chris could only figure that Rory needed a break from studying. He could only imagine how Rory was frustrated from how hard she pushed herself through school and wanted the comfort and love her mother and step father during her break. _That is, her mom's boyfriend._ It certainly seemed like they were married, they would argue and banter, but always with a smile. Luke stayed over night every night it seemed. Chris wondered if he even had another home or apartment away from the girls. Luke seemed to have worn a trail in the town between the Gilmore home and the diner, seldom diverting from his routine, unless Lorelai was tugging on his arm. Chris began to wonder if they were so serious that they simply took to living together.

Chris followed Rory and Lorelai to the diner where they were having dinner with Luke…again. He began to question his sanity, following the three of them around, like a stalker. Chris did like seeing Rory with her friends and Lorelai looked like she was well taken care of by Luke and her job.

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The following day was quiet at the diner. Chris knew Lorelai was at work and Rory was in school so he thought he'd take a chance and face the man that had entrenched himself in the Gilmore girls' lives.

Luke was going over the lunch rush's receipts when the diner's door chimes jingled. He looked up as he normally would, and found a guy in his leather jacket with a motorcycle helmet in hand had entered his place. "Hey, how's it going?" the stranger greeted with a nod, his attention fixed on Luke.

"Hey," Luke nodded, "Have a seat, be with you in a minute," and he went back to his numbers. Luke didn't think much of it; Luke had seen people pass through town all the time.

There wasn't many people in there, a small family by the front window, and two women at a small table by the counter. Chris sat at the counter, hoping for some face time with the new boyfriend, for some reason Chris had to get to know him. After all, if Lorelai liked him, maybe he was similar to Chris himself. He was going to pull the "just passing through" routine like he did with the voluptuous woman hitting on him before. "So, umm, menu?"

Luke slid one over to the stranger, and went back to his receipts.

Chris perused the menu, seeing why Lorelai would love dating a diner owner.

"You know what you want?" Luke asked Chris.

"Umm, yeah, burger."

"How do you want that done?"

"Medium" Chris nodded.

"Any embellishments?" Luke seemed to catch himself, Rory's vocabulary had worked its way into his, and he shook his head, "… I mean, anything on that?"

"Umm yeah, lettuce, tomato, ketchup…"

"What kind of cheese?"

"Well, umm, Swiss... If you got it."

"Fries?"

"Naturally," Chris nodded.

"Anything to Drink?"

"A soda, thanks"

Luke took a step toward the kitchen to prepare the order, but stopped, and turned back to the stranger. "I'm sorry, I have to get this off my chest. But do you wanna break your neck?"

"I'm sorry?" at first Chris thought Luke had figured out who he really was.

"The motorcycle!" Luke barked, "I mean, do chicks really go for that wind in you hair, bugs in your teeth look…"

"I wear a helmet," Chris defended himself.

Luke continued without hearing him, "…but for all the noise they make, the pollution, the wasted fuel to transport one person, not to mention if you need to transport something other than yourself. I mean, how do you go to the store with that thing? Where do you put your groceries … and the accidents you could cause as you try to weave in and out of cars at 60 miles per hour," Luke had gestured wildly as he spoke, and then came to a huffing pause.

Chris just started at him for a moment.

"I'm sorry, force of habit. It's just you're such a young kid…"

"I'm 27…"

"Really? 'Cause man you look younger…"

"Thank you…" wondering how much older Luke was than Lorelai, if that was part of his fatherly appeal, "I'm sure my mother will be happy to hear that…" thinking of the impending plastic surgery Francine already had scheduled.

"Sorry again…I'll just make your burger…. Caesar… refills," and his server seemed to hop to the order, and went around the diner to refill coffees.

Chris tried to figure out his strategy, maybe, try and talk with Luke guy to guy, see if he could set any verbal traps and get information that would be useful later on.

Luke came back with the burger, and set it in front of the stranger, and started to clean the old coffee grounds of the coffee machine from the last pot.

"You sounded like my dad," Chris figured that was a logical segue to the subject he wanted to tap.

"Sorry?" Luke leaned his ear toward the stranger.

"The lecture… it sounded like my dad…"

"Huh, well, umm sorry… some times I just sorta… go off… and I don't know when to shut up," Luke said in a friendly tone.

"Well, you must have been on the debate team… cuz you're very convincing…I may have to take the bus home."

"Well, I was more of the track team sort in high school."

_Athletic…Great…_"Do you have kids?"

"Yes…" he said quickly, then Luke shook his head and corrected, "I mean, no."

"Well, which is it?" Chris asked with a smirk.

Luke hesitantly explained, not really liking to share his personal business with strangers, "My girlfriend has a daughter… and sometimes… well, it's like… you know…"

"Ah," Chris said knowingly having observed them for the last week. "Is that hard? I mean dating a woman with a kid?"

"Well, sometimes. I mean, at first she didn't even tell me she had a daughter. I think she was afraid I wouldn't take it so well… but after introductions were made and after a while, we found stuff to talk about… me and her daughter…we well, we bonded, I guess and well she's great."

"What's her name?"

"Rory," Luke said proudly, as if she was his own.

"And you think…of her as your daughter?" Chris tried to hide the bitterness.

"Well, her dad isn't around and well, it seems okay with both of them… you know if I step up, they appreciate it."

"Huh, lucky."

"Yeah," it was clear Luke was also appreciative that there were no complications to the relationships from the father.

As Chris was finishing the pie he had ordered for dessert, Luke seemed to perk up as he rounded the counter, Chris looked over his shoulder to see what brought the smile to his face, and Chris froze, as he saw it was Lorelai heading toward the diner. Chris turned back to face the counter again, hoping that he could somehow hide out in the open, he considered ducking into the bathroom, but it was too late. The door's bells jingled to announce Lorelai had entered the diner.

Chris hunched forward to disguise himself, focusing his eyes on his plate, but his ears were focused on the conversation behind him.

"Hey," Luke said, and there was the sound of the meeting lips, "What are you doing here?"

Lorelai's voice rang out, "Well, I just remembered, I think I left something in your apartment the other night…after our date…" as she made her way to the curtain that lead to a staircase, Chris assumed.

"Hey, how was Rory this morning? I left before she was up."

"She was fine… still a little disappointed…but… that's what you get with Christopher," Lorelai sighed and Chris looked directly at them, still unnoticed by the pair all lit up in love.

Luke grumbled, "I swear Lorelai if I ever meet this guy ….I just wanna…" Luke searched for the word, "…punch him for all he put that girl through."

"Hey, she's gonna be okay, after all… she has you," Lorelai smiled kindly, stroking his cheek.

"Yeah… Hey," Luke stopped her from heading up the stairs, "What'd you leave upstairs?" Luke asked.

"You really want me to announce that to the diner? Okay, I left my…"

Luke's hand was over her mouth in an instant, as he cast a wary glance to the family by the window. "Just go," apparently recalling the mystery item, Luke shooed her upstairs. Lorelai didn't give Chris a second look; granted she wasn't looking or expecting to see him the diner either, but she had love blinders on and all she could see was Luke.

Chris noticed that a fresh pot of coffee had just finished brewing, and he wondered if Luke had developed a sixth sense of when to expect Lorelai. "That your girlfriend?" Chris made small talk again.

"Yeah," Luke replied to be polite, walking behind the counter again.

"She doesn't look old enough to have a kid."

"Well, she is…" Luke was suddenly getting jealous and protective, wondering if this guy was thinking of putting the moves on Lorelai. Luke eyed him as he prepared the take out cup of fresh coffee for Lorelai.

Chris heard the sound of wood creaking, and knew Lorelai was coming back downstairs, and Chris decided quickly he was done. "Umm thanks it was great… uh keep the change?" as he threw money on the counter to make his escape.

"See ya," Luke called to the stranger, and turned his attention to Lorelai. "Find em?"

"Yes, I did, what did you used to pitch baseball? Cause they were way the hell far away… from where _we_ were…"

That was the last thing Chris heard before the door shut behind him. Chris knew the night in question, at least they had relieved their hormones in an apartment and not in a storage room as Chris originally pictured.

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Back inside the diner, Luke had to ask his girlfriend, "How could you forget your … you know?"

"Hello, we had to get back to Rory, and you threw them like to another state!"

"Alright, alright, this is a family establishment, people have to eat in here, enough talk about your… undergarments," he whispered handing her the coffee cup.

"What? Is there a food critic here? Afraid I'm gonna hurt your Zagat rating?" However, Lorelai wasn't done, "Why do they call them panties… I mean its one thing… but its plural and they call it a pair… if anything it should be a pair of bras cause hello there are two…" gesturing between her boobs.

"Please, stop," Luke pleaded.

"Okay, I'll save the dirty talk for tonight," and Lorelai kissed Luke good-bye.

"Bye, crazy lady."

As Lorelai left the diner, she heard a motorcycle and looked up. Then saw the bad ass riding it round the square and burn his way out of town. _Hmm a leather jacket? _Lorelai raised an eyebrow and knew what she wanted to add to Luke's birthday present.

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Featured Refrain: Ain't Got No Reason (SHOULD BE A LORELAI POV... but she's stupid)  
I really shouldn't let you back in  
Though I'll just forgive you again  
I know it's really stupid  
It's the tenth time I've been through it  
I know you'll just keep leading me on **

Keep leading me on, (I go along)  
Ain't Got No Reason  
Yeah, you're feeding me lies (I'm letting it slide)  
Ain't Got No Reason

**I'm really going out of my way  
****Just to make the same old mistakes  
****You say that we've connected  
****But when i least expect it  
****You need some time to figure things out**

**Go figure it out (I****'m waiting around)  
****Ain't Got No Reason  
****Yeah, I don't want to Pout (i'm sticking it out)  
****Ain't Got No Reason **

I know it's really stupid  
It's the tenth time I've been through it  
I know you'll just keep leading me on

You say that we've connected  
**But when i least expect it  
****You need some time to figure things out**

Go figure it out (I**'m waiting around)  
****Ain't Got No Reason  
Yeah, I don't want to Pout (i'm sticking it out)  
****Ain't Got No Reason**  
  
Keep leading me on, (I go along)  
Ain't Got No Reason  
Yeah, you're feeding me lies (I'm letting it slide)  
Ain't Got No Reason

Ain't Got No Reason

Ain't Got No Reason

**A/N: You all know how I like to get on my soap box (because I have the high ground) and rant… well I have another STATEMENT that we must make TOGETHER, A plea really.**

**On that impending day when the Season 6 DVDs come out… PLEASE I beg you, my crack whores, my minions, my casual readers…if you loved GG ever! DO NOT BUY SEASON SIX OF GILMORE GIRLS **

**Reasons:  
****-Why would you want to shell out the dough to relive such an abysmal season, if necessary it will be syndicated in the fall I'm sure, watch it, if you HAVE TO, for free. **

**-Hit ASP/DP in the Royalties and DO NOT contribute to validating their HALF ASSED VINDICTIVE DRIBBLE  
-IF you ABSOLUTELY MUST buy it to complete your collection… PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, if you have any love for me at all… please WAIT until Season 7 comes out (Buy season 7 FIRST then buy 6 a week later) … it won't go anywhere… it will still be there… **

**I want it to have the lowest preorder/first day sales of all the seasons… **

Please be strong and make the STATEMENT with me… join the resistance!

**I thank you for your time… my darling crack whores and fans  
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"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
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R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund... **


	33. Ach So!

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer****: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. (JUST GIVE ME A JOB and we will call it even!)**

**R/R****: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q:**** What if LL hooked up when they first met? What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**LUVZ: I miss you! **

**FEATURED BETA: Localizy, thank you for putting up with my compulsive persnickety changes…for this crazy PUB. She's the DAVID BLAINE of BETAING…and she's all MINE… MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! **

**Localizy, _What Can I Say…_**

**No seriously go read localizy's fic _what can I say_…. read this first… then go to her's! **

**A/N: in avoidance of the FINALE, we decided to treat you all with this MONSTER UPDATE!  
you will be so overwhelmed you will forget all about the CRAP FOR CRAP! Courtesy of the Resistance! As Izy says, "for those that may not want to watch the drama of hell unfold; here are some distractions" **

**7777777777777777777777777777777777  
****Chapter 33:  
Ach So!**

When Luke came to Lorelai's house that evening, Lorelai wanted to share her epiphany as soon as he walked into the kitchen, "HA! I figured it out…a singular of panties."

Rory, who was sitting at the kitchen table with her mother, looked up from her notebook, "Mom… you mean a panty; _that_ would be the singular…"

Now that Rory was in on the act, Luke begged, "Stop, please!" with a roll of his eyes.

Lorelai continued, "Hey, and shorts… pants? Why is there an 's' on the end. Again, its one item, I mean you say I'm wearing a skirt…shouldn't it be I'm wearing a short… or wearing a pant?"

"My head hurts," Luke grumbled taking off his ball cap and scratching his head.

"Don't worry," Rory told him, "I have dinner all ready."

"Aw yeah? What'd you make?" Then he saw the pizza box on the counter and shot Rory a look.

Rory innocently smiled, and she looked just like her mother, "I got half veggie for you…Joe was nice enough to put tomatoes, and mushrooms even some zucchini and broccoli on it for you…I like how the cheese melts into the florets," showing her plate was empty already.

"Oh hey, Joe!" Lorelai exclaimed, and nudged Rory's arm, "We should put him on the guest list… after all he did help feed you before Luke came along."

Rory copied the note down into the notebook in front of her.

"Guest list?" Luke asked peering over Rory's shoulder.

"Mom and I started working on my birthday plans," Rory told him, _and yours,_ she thought, knowing that on the page now facing the table top was his party plan outline. When they heard Luke at the front door, Rory quickly flipped the notebook back to her own party plans and ideas, and both girls at the table adopted an innocent air.

"How many people are you inviting?" Luke raised an eyebrow, seeing how long her list had gotten on the page.

"Oh, this is just the first draft," Rory assured.

"Yeah, we gotta make sure we get rid of the losers. Oh speaking of parties," Lorelai looked up at Luke, placing a hand on his arm, "I wanted to run something by you."

"Yeah?" Luke was wondering if Lorelai was going to make him dress up like a clown for Rory's birthday.

"Well, your birthday like a week later, should we plan a joint bash for you and Rory? Or do you want a party of your very own?" Lorelai thought she could predict his answer, but she thought she'd be polite and offer anyway, maybe he would surprise her.

"Aw, I don't want a party," Luke waved off, as he got a paper plate and went to the counter for a slice of the veggie pizza.

Mother and daughter exchanged a knowing look behind his back. "I knew it," Lorelai sighed, somewhat disappointed, but they had planned on it. Luke was very reliable and predictable.

"Just have the one for Rory. It's not every day you turn 12."

"Well, it's not every day you turn 31," Lorelai argued back.

"Look, I don't like parties, okay. Please, just focus on Rory…"

"Okay, but we'll have a special celebration; just the three of us… deal?"

"Alright, deal," he conceded again.

Once again behind his back, Lorelai silently clapped her hands together, to signal to Rory that Luke had fallen into the plan beautifully. Rory smiled over her guest list, because she knew exactly what her mother had in mind for Luke's special celebration.

"You have a movie in mind tonight?" Luke asked, figuring he'd just wait for them in the living room if they already had it cued up.

Lorelai let out a heavy sigh, "She wants to watch _Stalag 17_ …"

Luke turned back to the kitchen table to look at both girls. Luke exclaimed "…Again?" in unison with Lorelai who nodded repetitively in confirmation, hoping to covey her mild irritation at her daughter's current favorite movie. She also hoped she wouldn't tire of the movie too quickly, this only being her second time, and Rory's third, but it seemed that it was always Rory's first choice when suggestions were asked for movie ideas of late.

Rory shrugged, "I can't help it, I like it." She did like it; she liked the special memory of watching it with Luke the first time. It was a new movie experience and one of the few times she had Luke all to her self. Rory liked how exciting and funny it was from the onset despite its being set in a POW camp in Germany; how suspenseful and intriguing it was to try to figure out who the stoolie was. Rory liked that first viewing, just her and Luke, how they could laugh at the same parts, how Luke made her feel perfectly at ease despite her mom's absence, so at ease he let her use him as a pillow and fall asleep feeling perfectly safe. Rory then understood why her mother liked having Luke sleep over so much, well she understood as much as an eleven year old could have about the adult relationship.

Rory decided to cling to the man who was in her life, the father figure who _wanted_ to be there for her. As she had anticipated when she first got the post card from her father, Christopher had dropped out of contact again. The phone number was still active, but he never called or returned her calls or messages. Even though it was expected, it still hurt Rory to once again be ignored, but she pushed aside her disappointment and enjoyed her relationship with Luke. Whenever Rory came into the diner after school, Luke was always glad to see her. Rory loved it when she and Luke would cook together and try out a new recipe or make a new one up. When the three of them would play a board game or watch a movie together. If it was late enough, Luke would sleep over, and make breakfast the next day if he didn't have to meet a delivery in the morning. Rory just liked having Luke always around.

The trio halted the party plans to watch the movie, again. As Luke brought his plate into the living room he commented, "I thought you'd love this movie," he said to Lorelai, "it was the basis for _Hogan's Heroes_."

"No way!" Lorelai gasped in surprise, with a new found interest in the movie since it was now connected to a cult classic TV show, and she was awe that Luke knew such a behind the scenes fact.

"I know things," he grinned.

Luke settled in the middle of the couch with Lorelai huddled up on his right, Rory was bouncing on his left, anticipating the story of Sefton and the other POW's to unfold. Luke looked over at Rory; she didn't seem to realize she was humming the opening theme, _When Johnny Comes Marching Home_, as she bounced in her seat. Luke looked down at Lorelai who saw the same thing and smiled up at him with her head on his shoulder.

Luke whispered to Lorelai, "Wait till she sees _The Great Escape_."

"Don't you dare expose her to Steve McQueen," Lorelai returned with a poke in his ribs, _all my hard work rearing her over the years_, but only it was only in jest; she thought it was cute too.

To which, Rory hushed them both harshly, not wanting to miss a trick of the motley crew on the screen.

Rory had her mother's quirk of talking through movies at the same parts, and did the same bits she developed when she first watched it alone with Luke. She laughed at the all the antics of Shaprio and "Animal" to get to the Russian women's compound or at Cookie's witty narrative observations. Whenever Marko the Mailman said "at ease, at ease" to settle the soldiers down for announcements, both Lorelai and Rory were happy to join "Animal" in his sarcastic egging on, repeating a slow, mocking whine "at ease" every time. Rory loved and praised all of Bagradian's impressions of old movie stars from Gable to Cagney. Rory always swelled for sympathy for quiet Joey as he played his flute. Rory carefully watched for the signs of the traitor in their barracks, smiled as the true stoolie's identity was discovered, and raised an eyebrow with Sefton, "Ach so"; then finally cheered as Sefton made his escape with Lt. Dunbar to save the Lieutenant's life. As she helped Luke and her mom clean up the living room she talked about the movie, reliving all her favorite parts.

"It's a shame Cookie had to stay behind in that awful camp," Rory observed. "Do you think that Sefton wouldn't want to talk to him if he saw him on the street?" as William Holden's character had promised to all his bunkmates.

"Well, I think he would buy him a beer at least," Luke chuckled.

"Good, but those other guys …_forget it_. Every time I see it, I hate Duke more and more… what a hot head; always shooting off his mouth without thinking."

Luke broke into a smile, that's exactly how he felt about Duke when he first saw the movie as a boy with his dad, "I never liked Duke either."

"Oh and to see William Holden slap around Peter Graves, that was fun," Rory grinned.

"Peter Graves of Mission Impossible fame," Lorelai chimed in, but she was happy to let them discuss the movie, giving her a chance to just observe the special bond they had, the void Luke seemed to fill for Rory, and gather more ideas for Luke's birthday celebration.

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Rory and Lorelai were doing more party planning and decoration window-shopping the next day and Lorelai wanted to discuss location.

"Now, Rory I know we always have it our house but I was thinking this year we could have a special location," Lorelai always tried to out do the party from the year before and continue spoiling her wonderful angel girl daughter in her own unique way.

"I couldn't agree more," Rory had her own new locale in mind, hoping her mom and her were on the same page like always.

"Great, well the Taj MaHal was already booked, and some loser already bought out Disney World, so I was thinking about having the party at the Inn…" Lorelai smiled that her idea might be well received.

"…And I was thinking of the diner."

Both stopped and looked at each other and said in unison, "What?" It may have been the first time in their history as mother and daughter that they weren't on the same page, they didn't agree, that their mother daughter psychic connection had failed them.

"The diner?" Lorelai questioned.

"The inn?" Rory mirrored.

"Well, why do you want it at the diner?" Lorelai asked.

"Why do you want it at the inn?" Rory countered.

"Well, it sort of was our first home…"

"Well, isn't the Inn a bit … I don't know, grand for an 11 year old's party?" Rory said humbly.

"And you like the diner better?"

"Well, yeah… Luke has to work on my birthday…and well, it would be a way of seeing him and including him all day in the festivities…"

"You want to spend _all day_ at the diner?"

"Well, I want to spend the day with Luke… and he will be at the diner, why not have my party where he's working… it is a restaurant... so there will be food I like there…"

"Well, I'm sure for your birthday we could convince him to take off," Lorelai shrugged, if that was what her little girl really wanted.

"But I don't want to be a bother…"

"…But you want to be at his side all day… spend the day at the diner…?"

"Well, it was just an idea…"

Lorelai saw how Rory's heart was set on the idea. "I'll ask Luke…"

"Really?" Rory perked up.

"Sure, like you said I can talk him into anything… maybe we'll save the inn for your sweet 16…"

"I'd like that," and Rory hugged her mom's waist as they walked down the street.

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Luke and Lorelai were at the counter in the diner the following afternoon, and while waiting for Rory to show up after school, Lorelai got Luke's attention, "Hey Luke?"

"Yeah?" he was poking around behind the diner in the cubbies, organizing his flatware.

_Like a band aid, _"Can we… use the diner… for Rory's party?"

"What?" Luke popped up like a wack-a-mole game.

Lorelai explained, "Well, we usually have it at the house, but well, I really don't want to have to clean up afterwards… you know…"

"So you want me to clean up afterwards instead?" Luke challenged.

"Well, I'll help," the glare Luke gave her showed he didn't believe her, "…really, I will. Think about it, it's never been done before… the location is in the center of town… so everyone can come and go as they please… if you get annoyed or bored your apartment is right upstairs… it's perfect." Lorelai then proceeded to pout, "Please, it would mean so much to Rory."

"Sure, use your kid against me…"

"Luke…she especially requested having the party here, please."

"She wants the party here?"

"Yeah, she wants to be with you… and to maximize the visit, maybe you could, oh I don't know…" she said as if she was just then pulling it out of the air , which told Luke she had it all worked out, "Maybe you could close the diner for the day… so you can enjoy the entire party with her."

"Lorelai…"

"Yes?" she flashed that million dollar smile.

Luke took a long moment to consider, he knew it was pointless to argue, "Fine!" he conceded, but he was touched that his diner would be chosen out of all the fun places they could have had Rory's party. _One day won't break me…_

"YAY!" Lorelai had a wicked grin as she sipped her coffee, triumphantly. "And you know… your birthday isn't far off… so you will be handsomely rewarded I'm sure…" she punctuated with a wink.

Not wanting to talk of the rewards her tone was suggesting in public, Luke changed the subjected as he blushed. "Is umm," he cleared his throat, to removed the previous topic, "Rory too old for teddy bears?" Since Rory was still in school, Luke felt he could ask his girlfriend for advice on what to get his favorite soon to be 12 year old.

"Well, all girls have some stuffed animals," Lorelai shrugged, "but she is almost a teenager," _scary thought._

"What about Teddy Roosevelt? Does she like him?"

"You've been researching her birth date?" Lorelai had known for a while that her daughter and the famous president shared the birth date and was touched Luke was taking this seriously enough to worry about what to get her daughter. Lorelai then realized he had been worrying about this for nearly 2 months, "You're really doing your homework…"

"Well yeah… she likes history and stuff… I don't know… it made sense…I mean after… well what happened with her dad… I just want to cheer her up. I want everything…perfect."

"I'll see what I can come up with…" Lorelai smiled, and wondered if he even realized how close he and Rory had become.

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When Lorelai told Rory that Luke agreed to the party, Rory practically jumped on Luke to hug him in thanks. While Lorelai and Rory were deciding a theme, Luke took the responsibility of the menu, but without a theme he struggled for an idea on Rory's cake.

The days were winding down till Rory's party at the diner. Luke noticed there were glares being exchanged between Rory and Lorelai all through dinner. When he got up to get Rory seconds, behind his back he could hear fierce whispering, and what sounded like a gentle slap fight. When he turned around he saw Rory insistently nudging Lorelai, which resulted in Lorelai grabbing Rory's hand one she saw Luke was watching them, and making it look like they were simply holding hands, like loving mothers and daughters would. Luke's eye moved between the two as he placed the plate in front of Rory again.

Rory sent a mild scowl in Lorelai's direction, "I'm gonna finish this in my room," she announced. "I have to work on my invitations…and this will leave you two to talk!" she said pointedly to her mother. With that, Rory disappeared into her room.

"Okay, what's going on?" Luke asked his girlfriend.

Lorelai took his hand, and led him upstairs. Lorelai knew this required delicate strategy. Once in her room, she closed the door and crashed her lips to his, which caught him off guard, but he was always eager to kiss the woman he loved.

After a few moments, "What do you want?" he said figuring she was trying to seduce him and make him susceptible to her wishes.

"Damn it, you know me too well," she sighed playing with the collar of his flannel. "Okay, well Rory's party is on Sunday."

"Yes?" Luke listened carefully.

"And remember that you love me…"

"That I do," he agreed.

"And you love Rory…"

"Yes."

"Well," she delayed.

"Lorelai," Luke warned her to just get it over with.

"Well, we finally decided on a theme for her party."

_Oh boy, _"Okay?"

"So, she wants a Halloween theme," _yeah its all about what Rory wants, it was Rory's idea, nothing to do with the perfect costume that you found that fits you like a glove. _

"What?" Luke took a second to make the obvious objection, "You mean like a costume party?"

"Yes," Lorelai winced.

"So you mean to tell me I'm shutting down the diner, so the mental patients that reside in this town can dress up and parade all day long through my establishment in costume!"

"…and in honor of Rory's birthday!"

Luke stepped out of her arms, he was opening and closing his mouth over and over, wanting to say a flat out "no", even raising a finger to protest; but then only putting his hands on his hips to glare at Lorelai knowing he couldn't say no to Rory's wishes.

"Luke it could be fun… come on…"

"I'm gonna have to decorate…" he complained.

"I'll decorate… and I'll help clean up…"

"I have to redo the menu…"

"No, its fine… just the burgers and fries is fine, really."

"But what about the cake? She has to have a themed cake."

"Luke, I'm sorry we just got inspired today… we haven't done the costume theme in years and … she knew you were gonna freak out…"

"I'm not freaking out… its fine, that is what she wants … you know costumes and a theme…I'll do it, it's just…"

"What?"

"I want it to be … special… it's the first birthday I'm here for… and I want to make a good impression…"

Lorelai smiled sweetly, "You will, she'll be happy that you are there and that you remembered."

"I still don't know what to get her…" and Luke seemed positively desperate.

"It's okay… we have the rest of the week yet… it will be fine." Lorelai hugged him. "There is one more thing we need to discuss…"

"Yeah?"

"Well, she wants to include you in everything, so she was wondering if you'd mind…going…trick or treating with us?"

"What?"

"Well, she's gonna be 12 and this maybe her last year to go out like that…"

"What about handing out candy here?"

"Well, I don't usually give out candy here at the house; we usually hang caramel apples in the tree out front, if the kids take 'em … great; if not, I have the breakfast of champions for a week… as long as the apples don't rot mind you…"

"Lorelai," he rolled his eyes, already knowing she was going to win and some how get her way and make him look ridiculous.

"It's okay, I've got it all figured out. All you have to wear is a baseball jersey…you're jeans and ball cap are fine…"

"_We're_ dressing up?" he seemed surprised; walking around door to door at night was one thing, but to have to do it in costume, "Aw Jeez."

"Umm, yeah, it's sort of tradition…"

Luke couldn't help his curiosity, "What are you going to be?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," she said in a flirty voice. "You just wear the jersey to the diner on Sunday, then for trick or treating…and you are done for the year…"

"Fine… but I'm doing it for Rory…"

"Let the record show Luke Danes is doing it for Rory," she smiled. "Do you have a baseball jersey?"

"Red Sox."

"No, a jersey…" Lorelai repeated thinking she had spoken clearly.

He didn't know how he was dating this woman sometimes, "I do, a Boston Red Sox jersey."

"Oh… okay great…"

There was a knock at the bedroom door.

"Come in," Lorelai called knowing who it would be.

Rory poked her head in, "Hi, how's it going in here?" she asked timidly.

"He agreed."

"To all of it?" Rory asked stepping in the room.

"All of it," Luke nodded.

Rory hugged both of them at the same time, "This is going to be the best birthday ever!"

"That's the idea," Lorelai smiled at Luke, at all he wanted to do for Rory, therein making his addition to the traditions most welcome.

"Hey kid, what do you think about a mud pie birthday cake? With gummi worms and everything…" Luke enticed.

"Ooo, can you make it look like a graveyard?" Rory latched on to the idea.

"It's your birthday, not your death day," he said a little unsettled by the morbid suggestion.

"But its Halloween," Rory pointed out.

"Alright," Luke agreed.

"Cool, I'm gonna make up funny names for the graves like they do on _The Simpsons_…" then she showed her mom the piece of paper, "Look here is my invitation."

Lorelai examined the colorful and drawn effort by her daughter, with Orange pumpkins and Purple Bats, "Wow, that 28 color marker set really was worth the money. "Now you have to do it 500 more times to get everyone in town to come…"

Daunted by the number, and since she still had school work to do, Rory asked, "Well, mom, could you help me?"

"Since I have no artistic capabilities, how about I do them on Clunker?"

"Clunker?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, my computer," Lorelai said simply.

"You mean the computer buried in the corner of the living room that I have never seen you use."

"Yeah, that's the one."

"She needs a new one," Rory insisted.

"Hey, for as often as I use it was a steal… I can barely use the computers at work."

**777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
A/N: my Computer's actual name is Putter… cause he's slow… my computer at work is named Hal cause it's EVIL! **

**"Hal open this file." **

**"I can't do that, Debbie…" **

**A/N: regarding having party in the diner: **

**gilmoregirl1979: obviously i won't be tainted by the asp world, as I am not watching the show, but i fear being stoned for the similarity. **

**Localizy: tell them i made you do it **

**So there! **

A/N: Featured Refrain: Planets

**'Cause you can't see life living on my planet  
But it gets so lonely here on this planet  
That I would leave it **

**No hard feelings – Broken things mend  
I'm not angry – Yes, just so disappointed **

**Not Paris, it's much too perfect  
You are right, a long ride  
Don't want it; we don't fit  
You knew it'd never happen **

**Out here planets leave like lies from lips **

**How could you leave me alone on my planet?  
I want to live with you there on your planet  
I'd even believe you **

**No hard feelings - Broken things mend  
I'm not angry – Yes, just so disappointed  
No hard feelings - Broken things mend  
Prob'ly won't die yet - Just so disappointed **

**You can't see life living on my planet  
But it gets so lonely here on this planet  
What could I do to live with you on your planet  
And why with so many billion other planets  
You had to leave mine? **

**A/N: You all know how I like to get on my soap box (because I have the high ground) and rant… well I have another STATEMENT that we must make TOGETHER, A plea really. **

**On that impending day when the Season 6 DVDs come out… PLEASE I beg you, my crack whores, my minions, my casual readers…if you loved GG ever! DO NOT BUY SEASON SIX OF GILMORE GIRLS **

**Reasons: **

**-Why would you want to shell out the dough to relive such an abysmal season, if necessary it will be syndicated in the fall I'm sure, watch it, if you HAVE TO, for free. **

**-Hit ASP/DP in the Royalties and DO NOT contribute to validating their HALF ASSED VINDICTIVE DRIBBLE  
-IF you ABSOLUTELY MUST buy it to complete your collection… PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, if you have any love for me at all… please WAIT until Season 7 comes out (Buy season 7 FIRST then buy 6 a week later) … it won't go anywhere… it will still be there… **

**I want it to have the lowest preorder/first day sales of all the seasons… **

Please be strong and make the STATEMENT with me… join the resistance!

**I thank you for your time… my darling crack whores and fans **

**7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
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R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund...**


	34. Believe It Or Not

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer****: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. (JUST GIVE ME A JOB and we will call it even!) **

**R/R****: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q:**** What if LL hooked up when they first met? What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**LUVZ: I miss you! **

**FEATURED BETA: Localizy, thank you for putting up with my compulsive persnickety changes…for this crazy PUB. She's the DAVID BLAINE of BETAING…and she's all MINE… MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! **

**Localizy, _What Can I Say…_ **

**No seriously go read localizy's fic _what can I say_…. read this first… then go to her's! **

**A/N: in avoidance of the FINALE, we decided to treat you all with this MONSTER UPDATE! You will be so overwhelmed you will forget all about the CRAP FOR CRAP! Courtesy of the Resistance! As Izy says, "for those that may not want to watch the drama of hell unfold; here are some distractions." **

**A/N: Dialogue borrowed from 1.06 - Rory's Birthday Parties /  
written by: Amy Sherman-Palladino / directed by: Sarah Pia Anderson  
intentions and dialogue may have been changed by GG1979 **

**7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
****Chapter 34:  
Believe It Or Not**

Early in the morning on October 27th, Lorelai attempted to slip out of Luke's arms.

"Where are you going?" Luke asked with a groggy voice, trying to keep her close to him.

"I have to do something," she whispered.

Luke released her, assuming it was to go to the bathroom, "Okay," and then he rolled over.

Lorelai crept downstairs to Rory's room, smiling at her daughter still curled up in fetal position with Colonel Cluckers. "Happy birthday, little girl," she whispered.

"Hmm," Rory groaned, knowing that she and the Colonel needed their sleep. Rory let her mother in her bed for this little tradition, but she rolled over to face away from Lorelai with the Colonel in a tight hug. Lorelai began to smooth her daughter's hair, and tell her story once again.

"Sometimes I can't believe how fast you're growing up."

Rory's only reaction to the observation was, "Hmmm."

"So you know what I think?" Lorelai whispered.

Rory kept with the vague, "Hmmm."

"I think you're a great, cool kid, and the best friend a girl could have."

"Back atcha," Rory yawned, knowing she had at least another 15 minutes before she had to talk again.

Lorelai continued, "And it's so hard to believe that at exactly this time many moons ago, I was lying in exactly the same position. Only I had a huge, fat stomach and big fat ankles and I was swearing like a sailor on leave and there I was in labor…" and Lorelai was allowed to finish her story as her daughter continued to dream the early morning of her birthday away.

It had been a long time since Lorelai just sat and looked at her sleeping little girl, and she had to laugh at herself. Lorelai was starting to see more and more of Luke in Rory's features, and wondered if she could debunk the nature versus nurture argument.

Then something was sticking out of the Colonel's wings, it looked like a piece of paper. Lorelai wondered if it was the postcard from Christopher, if Rory kept it on hand, just in case. Maybe Rory was hoping on her birthday they would hear from him again; perhaps on the anniversary of her birth, Rory was missing her father all the more. Lorelai pulled the corner out of the wing, and was surprised to see the much handled picture of her self and Luke sleeping side by side. _How in the world?_ The picture looked strange to Lorelai, their sleeping positions were opposite of their norm when Luke stayed over in her bed. Lorelai saw how Luke and her were face to face relaxed and contently smiling at each other in their sleep.

Lorelai looked down at Rory wondering how she ever got such a picture. It was then she saw the makeshift bedding beneath them and realized this was from the _Misery_ week sleep over; the event Lorelai believed truly cemented Luke in both Gilmore girls' hearts.

Rory stirred again, "Am I 12, yet?"

"Yeah, baby, you're 12."

"Hmmm, is daddy up?"

Lorelai's brow furrowed, "Daddy?"

"Hmmm," Rory didn't realize her sleepy blunder, yet corrected, "Luke, is he up yet?"

Lorelai gasped, she didn't know how to react to that, "Umm no… _daddy_ isn't up yet," she used her daughter's word to see if she could gauge a reaction.

"Okay," Rory yawned again, "I want pumpkin pancakes…"

"Okay… I'll tell him," Lorelai rubbed her daughter's arm, then slipped the picture back into the colonel's wings, wondering if Rory was dreaming of a world where Luke was indeed her biological father.

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Lorelai went upstairs to wake up Luke to make Rory's birthday pancakes. She nuzzled his neck, and he groaned in protest, but stretched out, realizing he slept in later than usual he finally got up.

"If you make keeping me up at night a habit, I'm gonna have to change the diner's hours."

Luke had made everyone pumpkin pancakes with cinnamon butter as the birthday girl had requested. The birthday girl also insisted on helping, so Lorelai watched from the kitchen counter as Rory and Luke spooned the batter into the pan, flipping the cakes with their respective spatulas, and how Luke kissed Rory on the head to wish her a happy birthday.

Rory attempted to flip her pancakes in the air, but after the fourth sacrificed cake, Luke assured her that she'd get better when she got a little older. "I couldn't flip them in the air till I was 14," he fibbed.

"Okay, I'll have to set aside some time to practice," Rory said she stepped aside to let the professional do his work.

"You're not supposed to work on your birthday," Lorelai scolded.

"It's not work, I like cooking… its fun."

Everyone in town knew the official party was set for four in the afternoon, which left the little family plenty of time to get ready. They headed over to the diner to help Luke set up and decorate the diner, bringing their costumes with them to change into before the party. The Diner was decked out in purple, orange and black streamers, Rory and Lorelai put ghosts and bats in the diner windows, and Luke sighed thinking the place looked stupid, but it was all for Rory, so he kept his mouth shut not wanting to hurt her feelings on her birthday. _The things I do…_ he mused internally.

Luke already had changed into his Red Sox jersey and was waiting for the girls to finish getting ready, as he was accustomed to whenever they went out for an evening. Suddenly, Rory burst through the curtain doorway from Luke's apartment. "Look at me!" she exclaimed loving her costume.

She had on a long dress with an empire waist, and a complimentary jacket that cut off at the empire waist. Rory's long hair was all bound up in a bundle of curls, "Mom, did my hair," and she let them bounce to show Luke how pretty they were. "It took a lot of hair spray though, not a strand will be out of place for the next 8 hours!" she exclaimed, getting into character.

"You look great," he complimented.

Rory narrowed her eyes at him, "You have no idea who I am, do you?"

"Not a clue," he laughed, knowing she wouldn't be offended.

"It's okay, I'm Elizabeth Bennett," and she did a twirl for him, "from Pride and Prejudice," she explained. "Mom, made my dress and jacket; this is an empire waist, which was the style at the time. Usually mom and I coordinate, but…" she trailed off.

"What?"

"Well, she found a costume she really liked… and so this year we aren't matching. I mean it's not like I asked her to be Lady Catherine De Bourgh!"

Lorelai called from behind the back room curtain, "You ready for my grand entrance?"

"Oh boy?" Rory rolled her eyes.

"What?" Luke asked.

Then, Lorelai pulled the curtains apart to reveal she was wearing a Wonder Woman costume, complete with tiara, gold eagle bodice, red knee high boots, and a red cape with white stairs. Lorelai then burst into the theme song, "…All the world's waiting for you, and the power you possess; In your satin tights, fighting for your rights and the old Red, White and Blue," as she spastically danced out into the diner.

Luke was so stunned he couldn't speak for a full minute. He sat in his seat with his gaped mouth and perplexed brows, trying to recall exactly how he fell in love with such a woman as Lorelai Gilmore.

"What's the matter? Don't you like it?" Lorelai asked, noticing the blank expression on Luke's face.

"You are not wearing that."

"Umm, yes, I am," Lorelai said happily, but firmly.

"Lorelai, it's October and you are running around in a … in a … bathing suit," he admonished.

"Hello … the cape," she waved the unnecessary material that she had added in his face, "I'm decent."

"Your legs are completely exposed…"

"Knee highs," she kicked one of her boots forward, to display her half covered leg.

"…This is a diner, and there are…health codes…" he stammered.

"You want my legs to wear hair nets? Because I've gotta tell ya, I totally shaved my legs for this outfit!"

Luke struggled nonverbally for a little while longer, but knew it was pointless and gave up, "Just…keep the cape on!"

"Relax, the goods are for you and you alone," and Lorelai stepped forward to kiss him, to thank him for his possessive jealousy. "It's not like I'm going home with Taylor tonight."

"Ew! Mom! Don't gross out the birthday girl!"

"Yeah, don't gross out the boyfriend, either."

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Luke set up a table by the door for gifts to be deposited on, and raised the blinds of the front door so everyone would know the party was beginning.

Lane also changed in Luke's apartment to come as Alanis Moressette, "If my mother asks, I was a Korean Missionary, even though Mrs. Kim would hardly approve of any participation in a pagan holiday. I'm in charge of Music!" she called dibs and took over the CD player and party music.

Morey was a zombie and Babette came as the bride of Frankenstein. Miss Patty, that is, _Mae West_, complete with parasol, came with a vat of her famous punch for the adults, carried in by the Greatest American Hero, a.k.a. Kirk. Lorelai rolled her eyes with disappointment, "Aw man."

"What? You thought you were going to be the only super hero?" Rory asked her mother as they stood at the front door to greet the guests.

"No, I just don't want the image of Kirk in tights in my head all day," she said in a low voice as Kirk approached them.

"Happy Birthday, Rory," in said in his trademark monotone, handing Rory her gift.

"Thanks Kirk," and Rory put the gift on the table with the others.

Then Kirk seemed to look Lorelai up and down. "Wonder Woman, good choice. I would suggest that we pair up, but… Luke could totally beat me up."

"That is possibly …very sweet of you, Kirk. Thank you," Lorelai smiled lamely, _and a little gross and a little disturbing._ Suddenly she wished she had heeded Luke's advice about her bare thighs.

"Any chance that…well, that's not gonna work out? You and him?"

Lorelai looked over at Luke who was actually socializing with Morey, a strange combination, the mellow musician and the usually disgruntled diner owner actually talking. At the same time Luke was obediently setting up the basin for the "bobbing for apples" game Lorelai had planned for the kids. Luke had been progressively changing as result of being involved with the Gilmore girls, he definitely smiled more than when Lorelai had first met him. She turned back to Kirk, "Sorry, Kirk, it seems good and solid to me."

Kirk let out a dejected, "Darn," and he sulked away to get some of Patty's punch.

Lorelai saw Rory shudder next to her, "You cold honey?"

"No, I just had a flash of Kirk as my new daddy… Ewww!" she nearly convulsed again.

Lorelai smiled, knowing already whom Rory already had in mind as her new daddy. Lorelai reminded the crowd to vote for their favorite costume, the ballots and ballot box were on the gift table.

Bobbing for apples was messy yet fun, and Lorelai assured Luke that just because she wanted to play didn't mean there would be a little Luke in 9 months. Guess the ghost had been a big hit, where one of the kids was taken to the storage room and another child was covered with a sheet, and the returning child had to guess who was missing, a.k.a. who was the ghost.

Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to Rory, and Luke dreaded the same treatment in a week when his birthday rolled around. Luke was glad he made so many mud pies, since people wanted to take halves home with them. Rory thanked all her school friends for coming and handed out goodie bags as they departed, while Lorelai took care of their wacky neighbors with warm thanks and hand shakes. Luke was even kind enough to make sure Kirk got home to his mother safely, walking him the two block's to his house; Kirk was singing passionately and off key, "Believe it or not… I'm walking on air… I never thought I could feel so free…" the whole way as he stumbled down the street with Luke keeping him on the side walk, "Flying away on a wing and a prayer, who could it be? Believe it or not it's just me," straining his voice for a big finish.

Lorelai considered as they watched the two guys disappear down the street, "Do you think Kirk copied me on purpose?"

"What are you talking about…he wasn't Wonder Woman," as Rory pulled down the bats and ghosts from the windows.

"Come on… 80's TV super hero, we were both singing our respective theme songs…it's suspicious."

"You're paranoid. Come on; let's see if we can get this done before Luke gets back…"

"Rory, its still your birthday you aren't supposed to lift a finger."

"Come on, Luke put up with party games and his diner being taken over …for me… it's the least I can do."

They decided to wait till they got home to open the gifts; Luke helped to load up the Jeep and followed them to their house in his truck. Lorelai helped arrange the gifts on the coffee table for Rory to tear into, settling into the easy chair with a notebook to make a tally for Rory's incessant need to thank every single person for every single bauble she received.

Lorelai noticed that Rory's smile widened on the couch, "Who's it from sweets?"

"Luke," Rory said in an excited whisper, her shoulders shrugging up to her ears.

"Luke!" Lorelai called, "get in here!"

"What? I was coming right back… I was just getting the coffee you asked for," handing her the mug.

"Well, sit back down. Rory is opening your gift."

"Sit next to me," Rory instructed.

"Okay, okay," Luke was happy that she was so excited about it, hoping it would last once the wrapping paper was off.

Lorelai's anticipation was equal to Rory's, and she bit her lip as Rory tore the paper off. Luke never did tell her what he settled on.

Rory gasped, "Oh my gosh! No way!" and she turned to Luke to pounce a hug on Luke, "Thank you!"

"What is it?" Lorelai asked.

Rory could hardly contain herself she showed her mother, "The A&E version of Pride and Prejudice! You know the one that was on last year…"

"You mean the one that you watched every airing of?"

"With Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle," Rory read off the cover, "Mom can we watch it this weekend?"

"Rory! That's like six hours!"

"Six?" Luke seemed surprised by the number.

"Yeah," Lorelai confirmed for her thoughtful boyfriend. "Besides we were gonna do the monster marathon, we have a date with Claude Rains and Lon Chaney Jr!"

"Don't forget Bela and Boris!" Rory reminded.

"And Bela and Boris…"

"Whose Bela and Boris?" Luke asked, " and whose Claude and Lon?" Luke felt left out of the conversation again.

"See Rory, we have too many beaus this week, but next week how about we watch an hour a night?"

"Alright, I guess it makes more sense to have our monster marathon this week." Rory turned back to Luke with the cassettes clutched to her chest, "Thank you Luke! I just love it!"

"I'm glad to hear it…" he smiled again still wondering who all these guys were they were gonna see.

Alright sweets, its a school night, so to bed."

Rory gave Luke another hug, and kissed her mother's cheek, "Thank you for my new stereo, mom."

"Well if Lane keeps giving you all those CDs … you can't just hold 'em up to your ear like a seashell. Besides, this means you can give me back mine."

"Rory, I'll set up the stereo before dinner tomorrow okay?" Luke promised.

"Thank you, Luke, night!"

Luke looked at Lorelai, hesitantly wanting to ask something.

"Luke?"

"Can I stay the night?"

"Of course," she smiled, "… since when do you need to ask?"

"Well, I didn't know if you… you know were getting sick of me… sleeping over all the time"

"Not sick of you yet," Lorelai said with a smile, leading him upstairs to go to sleep.

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Lorelai left work early on Thursday to hang the caramel apples that the trio made the night before in the usual tree, and she smiled at Babbette and Morey as the set up their traditional gallows. Lorelai then seemed to realize how much their traditions were changing because of Luke. Usually, they had Rory's party at the house, but Rory wanted it at the diner with Luke. Usually, only Sookie and her accompanied the girls on Trick or Treating, but again Rory wanted to include Luke.

Lorelai did Rory's hair again, and Rory broke out the gloves her mother made to match the jacket. "It's gonna be cold Mom, are you sure you want to stay as Wonder Woman?"

"Please, with how hot I look, I can take a little cold."

"Okay" Rory sing song'd in a "You'll be sorry tone".

After only a half hour of trick or treating, Lorelai started complaining, "Okay, I'm never one to admit when I am wrong, cause I never am… but Luke, honey, you were right… bathing suit in October…bad idea."

Lane and Rory begged, "We still have 4 more blocks…can't you hold out…"

Lorelai groaned.

Luke pulled her closer to him, "I'll make you some coffee when we get home." Up until then he had just been holding her hand, but he didn't want her to catch a cold.

"Bring the coffee upstairs, I'll be the one thawing under the covers."

Luke being the most normal dressed of them all took Lane home while Lorelai and Rory waited by the diner. Rory was going to hang on to Lane's haul of candy till they could trade favorites and bargain at the crap shake.

When they got home, Lorelai rain upstairs, declaring she was thermal bound. Rory shook the hand of Luke she had been holding. "Luke, will you help me take down my hair?"

Luke immediately looked toward the stairs hoping Lorelai would be back soon. When he looked back down at those big blue eyes again, he found himself saying "Sure".

They talked about the trick or treating and about her birthday party as Luke fumbled to remove the pins from Rory's head, making her giggle. She could have brushed her own hair out, but handed him the brush instead. She watched him in the mirror, saw him so focused as to not hurt her as he stroked through her hair with the brush. She felt this was a nice moment, and Rory almost predicted that she would look back fondly on this birthday and Halloween.

Rory went to bed and Luke went upstairs with a mug of coffee to warm up Lorelai.

When he entered the room, Lorelai was on the bed and met Luke in black and orange lingerie.

"I thought you were cold and thermal bound?" he choked out, taking in the sight over her.

"I thought of a better way to warm up."

Luke put down the mug, knowing it would be the only thing growing cold in the room tonight.

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**A/N: Featured refrain: Hard Luck Woman (Luke POV/o imaging Scott with a guitar…SEXY!)  
(Luke to Lorelai or FANS to ASP) **

If never I met you  
I'd never had seen you cry  
If not for the first "hello"  
We'd never had to say good-bye  
If never I held you  
My feelin's would never show  
It's time I start walkin'  
But there's so much you'll never know  
I keep tellin' you hard luck woman  
You ain't a hard luck woman

Rags, the sailor's only daughter  
A child of the water  
Too proud to be a queen  
Rags, I really love ya  
I can't forget about you  
You'll be a hard luck woman  
Baby, 'til you find your man

Before I go let me kiss you  
And wipe the tears from your eyes  
I don't wanna hurt you girl  
You know I could never lie  
I keep tellin' you hard luck woman  
You ain't a hard luck woman  
You'll be a hard luck woman  
Baby, 'til you find your man

**A/N: You all know how I like to get on my soap box (because I have the high ground) and rant… well I have another STATEMENT that we must make TOGETHER, A plea really. **

**On that impending day when the Season 6 DVDs come out… PLEASE I beg you, my crack whores, my minions, my casual readers…if you loved GG ever! DO NOT BUY SEASON SIX OF GILMORE GIRLS **

**Reasons: **

**-Why would you want to shell out the dough to relive such an abysmal season, if necessary it will be syndicated in the fall I'm sure, watch it, if you HAVE TO, for free. **

**-Hit ASP/DP in the Royalties and DO NOT contribute to validating their HALF ASSED VINDICTIVE DRIBBLE  
-IF you ABSOLUTELY MUST buy it to complete your collection… PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, if you have any love for me at all… please WAIT until Season 7 comes out (Buy season 7 FIRST then buy 6 a week later) … it won't go anywhere… it will still be there… **

**I want it to have the lowest preorder/first day sales of all the seasons… **

Please be strong and make the STATEMENT with me… join the resistance!

**I thank you for your time… my darling crack whores and fans **

**7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
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R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund...**


	35. Happy Birthday, Baby!

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer****: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. (JUST GIVE ME A JOB and we will call it even!) **

**R/R****: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q:**** What if LL hooked up when they first met? What if things had moved … a touch more quickly…? **

**LUVZ: I miss you! **

**FEATURED BETA: Localizy, thank you for putting up with my compulsive persnickety changes…for this crazy PUB. She's the DAVID BLAINE of BETAING…and she's all MINE… MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! **

**Localizy, _What Can I Say…_ **

**No seriously go read localizy's fic _what can I say_…. read this first… then go to her's! **

**A/N: in avoidance of the FINALE, we decided to treat you all with this MONSTER UPDATE! You will be so overwhelmed you will forget all about the CRAP FOR CRAP! Courtesy of the Resistance! As Izy says, "For those that may not want to watch the drama of hell unfold; here are some distractions." **

**  
****7777777777777777777777777  
****Chapter 35  
Happy Birthday, Baby! **

Luke and the girls started watching Pride and Prejudice on the Sunday after Halloween and their Saturday classic monster movie fest. They did the first two hours on Sunday night, and then one hour a night leading up to Luke's birthday. Luke was overwhelmed by the language and length of the movie, but he figured it saved him from having to actually read the book just yet.

Lorelai woke up excited on Nov. 6th. Luke had slept over again and she rolled over to smile at his relaxed face. She pecked kisses on his cheek, and nibbled on his ear, "Happy Birthday, baby," she whispered.

Luke groaned, and blinked awake, "Morning…"

"Morning."

"I'm sorry," he sighed.

"For what? Turning older?"

"No, I slept over again."

"So, I'm not complaining."

"I can't even remember the last time I was at my apartment."

"Hmm, Rory's party you let us in to change there."

Luke dismissed the thoughts he was having, "I've gotta go to work."

"No," Lorelai whined, "Stay here with me… I wanna see the birthday boy in his birthday suit."

"Lorelai, I've got to go…"

"Take the day off." She pleaded knowing full well he wouldn't, "I thought those were the perks of owning your own business."

"I've gotta work, you gotta work…"

"Okay… well, we have a fun night planned for you."

"Lorelai, I gotta go… I'll see you tonight," he kissed her while she lay in bed.

Lorelai stayed in bed while he got ready to be out of his way. She waited till she heard the front door, then she zipped out of bed, and, since she secretly took the day off, she was free to run her final birthday prep errands while Rory went to school.

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Lorelai was so excited to set her plan for Luke's private birthday celebration in motion. Lorelai had taken the day off to make the last minute stops at the specialty stores in Hartford for his gifts. The last minute shopping was a necessity since Luke had taken to staying over so much lately. Lorelai didn't want to spoil the surprise by having Luke accidentally discovering his gifts while she was in the shower, or if he was poking around the house for a home improvement project.

Lorelai had offered to let Rory take the day off from school to go shopping with her and prep for the special dinner she had planned. However, Rory didn't want to miss a minute of school. The afternoon of Luke's birthday, both girls were in their kitchen, and Rory assured Lorelai that she had Luke's gift all taken care of when she redeemed her birthday gift certificates the previous Saturday.

During this exchange Lorelai turned to ask, "You didn't spend your birthday money on Luke's gift, did you? … I would have lent you some…"

"No, I used my allowance," Rory filled her mother in as she was wrapping said gift at the kitchen table.

"See that's not much better," Lorelai gestured with the spatula in her hand.

"You just want to know what I got him… well, you will find out when Luke does," Rory said stubbornly as she taped down the freshly folded wrapping paper.

It was true, Lorelai was curious at what Rory's plain white gift boxes contained as they were veiled with the wrapping paper they had found around the house. "See, I'm the girlfriend," Lorelai explained, "I have to get him the best gift…and since I have a credit card and you don't…"

"I'm still not telling you," Rory said calmly.

"Come On!" Lorelai stamped her foot. Luke was still at work and Lorelai was taking on a task that only love could have induced her to try, she was cooking for the first time. "Okay, now what?" Lorelai asked Rory biting her lip nervously, peering into the pan on the range top.

"Now… add the onion paste mixture to the meat and zucchini in the pan," Rory instructed.

"For the record, this looks absolutely disgusting," Lorelai made a face as she took the yellowy brown onion paste she had blended from the food processor to the saucepan, " … are you sure he is gonna eat this?"

Rory rolled her eyes at her mother, "For the last time, yes…" Rory was at the kitchen table putting the finishing touches on the gift wrapping of all their presents since her mother insisted she had to make dinner by herself, with her own two hands. Lorelai had given Rory her two plain gift boxes and carefully watched her daughter as she wrapped, to make certain she didn't peak either. Rory asked about the third surprise box, but Lorelai said she was going to save that for later.

"Why does it have to be such an ugly color," Lorelai winced, as she spooned and scrapped at the muck Rory insisted was edible.

"It's the curry and the cinnamon," Rory informed.

Lorelai Gilmore was cooking, well cooking under supervision. Rory was dictating detailed instructions telling Lorelai exactly what to do and Lorelai obediently followed orders. It wasn't that Lorelai wanted in the cooking club Luke and Rory had established, she just wanted an outstanding gesture to show him how much he meant to her, further more, after cooking all day on his birthday he deserved a break. So, Lorelai was making Luke's birthday dinner, nearly all by herself; a healthy Moroccan beef and bean dish that Rory assured Lorelai that Luke would love. Rory was impressed at her mother's interest in taking the lead for the perfect dinner, as this was quite possibly Lorelai's first time cooking in all her life.

"The recipe doesn't say to add carrots," Lorelai complained at yet another step Rory added to the recipe.

"Luke likes carrots…the more veggies in there the better, trust me… you don't have to follow the recipe exactly every time… Luke taught me that you could substitute certain things if you didn't have the sub-ingredients…"

"Like whipped cream for sour cream?" Lorelai teased.

"Umm, no!" Rory insisted.

"Alright," Lorelai looked at the clock, "Are you sure this will be done in time?"

"Yes," Rory gave one firm nod, tired of her mother's insecurity in this brave, new world.

"Oh No! We didn't start the couscous…" holding up the canister of the strange side dish.

"Mom, that only takes like 5 minutes to make… will you please relax!"

"Okay…Okay… I just don't want him to come home and the house is burned down. Or we aren't done…"

"Mom… we know his schedule… he's a creature of habit… we have plenty of time," Rory soothed, as she fixed stickers to the larger of her mother's presents.

"Okay… sooo now what?"

"Well, add the water…"

…And Lorelai did.

"…Add the beans…"

"Are you sure he's gonna like both… I mean black beans and chickpeas… I don't want to overwhelm him."

"… It's more fiber and protein, very healthy. Trust me," Rory sighed, as she fixed a bow to the lid of her mother's gifts.

"Okay, I do, okay," with each component she added, Lorelai half expected a puff of smoke or an explosion, like in a mad scientist's laboratory.

"Now add the diced tomatoes, and well done on not chopping off your fingers."

"Thank you," Lorelai said modestly, "I was quite impressed with that technique myself."

"So while that simmers… we can make the cous cous… it's so easy, you boil water, throw in some butter, add the cous cous, and in 5 minutes it's done. It's faster than rice."

"It's the new American side dish," Lorelai smiled in a commercial announcer voice.

Lorelai let Rory handle the final presentation of putting the dinner in serving dishes, while she set the birthday table. The girls hid their gifts with plenty of time to change and freshen up before Luke arrived.

"Mom! He's coming," Rory hollered from her room and met her mother in the kitchen.

Luke opened the front door, "Hey! I'm here, 7:00 just like you…" and Luke found them smiling in the kitchen. Luke saw the spread on the table and forgot the tail end of his sentence.

"Happy Birthday!" both girls giggled, and they rushed at him to hug him. "Happy Birthday, baby," Lorelai kissed his cheek, "Welcome to your ultra exclusive, super secret, private party."

"You two didn't have to go through all this trouble for me," he said as he saw the spread on the table.

"Hey, reserving the rainbow room, that would have been trouble… this was a pleasure," and Lorelai kissed his cheek again.

"Luke! Guess what!" Rory grinned.

"What?" he looked down at Rory who was still hugging his middle.

"Mom made dinner!" Instead of being proud, both girls could tell Luke was apprehensive, then Rory assured him, "Don't worry it's edible."

Luke turned to Lorelai on his left, "You made me dinner?"

"Well, you do it 364 days of the year… what's one day?" she shrugged.

Luke smiled, he hadn't even known Lorelai for 364 days yet, and still they were in love, Rory had let him into their little family, and Lorelai wanted to make his birthday special. "Come on, before it gets cold," Lorelai tugged on his arm, and Rory pulled out his chair.

They removed the lids of the serving dishes to reveal the entrée, "Moroccan Beef? Now I am impressed."

Lorelai smiled at Rory for her excellent suggestion for the main course, and that Luke could identify it, _so I must have done a good job._

"…And she didn't lose any of her fingers!" Rory praised, as Lorelai mimed, proudly holding up all ten digits in front of her to show Luke, as if to say, 'Look, Luke, no cuts.'

They all settled down for a family dinner and Luke conveyed how he had successfully avoided anyone in town from discovering it was his birthday because people were still talking about Rory's bash from last week.

"I'll have you know, Rory made your cake," Lorelai informed him, "And as you know, the rule is if Rory makes it, you have to eat it."

"Alright," Luke chuckled, almost dreading that just the two of them were going to sing "Happy Birthday" to him…off key.

Rory exclaimed, "Present time!" and she headed into the living room.

"What about your cake?" Lorelai asked.

"Cake later! Present time!" Rory repeated from the living room.

"Aw jeez, you guys didn't have to…"

"It's your birthday…the law requires gift giving," Lorelai told him, as she dragged him into the living room and pushed him to sit on the couch.

"Yeah, Luke you wouldn't want us to go to jail," Rory grinned as she handed him her wrapped gift that seemed to have materialized out of nowhere.

One look at those big puppy eyes, and Luke knew he had to accept the gifts whether he wanted to or not. There were two boxes comprising Rory's gift, both wrapped in green and red plaid paper, no doubt a dig or homage to his flannel fashion statement, and no doubt left over from last Christmas, given Lorelai's house keeping skills. As Rory sat next to him, she seemed anxious to see his reaction to her gift.

The first box, which was marked with a number one, was large and he pulled up the top, "Binders?"

"Look inside…" Rory urged.

Luke opened one of the binders, and they were filled with plastic pages, with 9 sleeves in each page.

"I'm sorry, I don't get it…" as he flipped through the plastic sleeves apologetically.

Rory still had a patient smile, "Now, open number two, and all will be come clear."

Luke opened the smaller, plaid clad box and a smile formed of Luke's face. "Wow, baseball cards. Thank you…"

"It's a bunch of assorted; I didn't know which ones you needed. Are any of them valuable?"

"Well, let's see here…" and he started to cycle through the mound cards, and he was surprised to find, "Wow, Howard Johnson…"

Seeing the child like glint in Luke's eye, Lorelai on his other side, to see Rory's gift better, and she quipped, "The Hotel?"

"No, the New York Met. In 1987, he and Darryl Strawberry were the first 30/30 club teammates."

"30/30?" Rory asked.

"When a player can get thirty home runs and thirty stolen bases in a single season… in 1988 Jose Canseco set a new standard of 40/40, but still to reach 30/30 is a testament to a player's power and speed," Luke explained. Luke flipped through a few more, "Benito Santiago's rookie card? You've got to be kidding me."

"What did he do?" Rory was now interested learning about these feats Luke found so impressive and had committed to memory like she would any of her studies.

"He was the first rookie to hit safely in thirty-four straight games."

Rory looked at her mother, and Lorelai didn't know what Luke was talking about either, but smiled that he even was talking so much and that seemed to enjoy the present... and that's all that matter to Rory.

Luke was now engrossed in flipping through the cards, "Nolan Ryan?" he couldn't believe he was holding a Nolan Ryan card in his hand, and showed it to Rory, "He was the first forty year old to strike out three hundred players in a season… and this is Hank Aaron," as he continued to flip through the assortment.

"I'm glad you like them. See the binders are to organize them and the ones you already have… rather than that smelly old shoe box… I would have done it myself… but I didn't know how to separate them… if it should be done by team… or year… or statistic…"

"Well, if you want to help, I'd be glad to sort them with you…"

"Okay," Rory smiled.

"Thank you, Rory," and Luke kissed her head as she hugged him.

Now it was Lorelai's turn. "Why? What's this?" Lorelai said in mock surprise, as she discovered a wrapped package behind the easy chair, "Wow, such a huge gift; Look, Luke it has your name on it…Aww," she cooed. She picked up the gift feigning a struggle, "Wow, it's so heavy… I wonder who it could possibly be from."

"Yeah, I wonder," Luke had to chuckle as she set the large box in his lap. Like Rory, Lorelai had it wrapped in a different blue and white gingham paper, still mimicking his usual plaid, seeing she had put sports stickers on top to hide the daisies that were part of the wrapping paper's original pattern. "Are those daisies?"

"Yes…" Lorelai admitted, and then she scoffed, "It's hard to find masculine wrapping paper! Besides we kept with the baseball theme…" pointing to the baseball stickers Rory had put on, even though there was an assortment of footballs, basket ball, and soccer balls too. "Start with the smaller one…"

Luke ripped the wrapping paper, to show a square brown box and opened it. He had to chuckle again, "Another baseball cap…"

"A blue baseball cap," _it will bring out your eyes_, "to make up for 'good old reliable greenie' that I…well, ruined when we painted the diner."

"Thank you, I love it."

"Hold up there, buddy… you gotta open the big one yet…"

Luke tore into the paper again, to find a larger gift box. Luke had the distinct impression he was getting clothes from Lorelai. _We've been dating 9 months and now she wants to dress me… great, _Luke pulled up the lid, moved aside the tissue paper, to find a leather jacket was his gift, "Lorelai?"

"Do you like it?" she was nervous, and didn't know if that was a good "Lorelai" or a bad "Lorelai". She knew how Luke ranted about fashion, and how does one keep up, and the use of fur for coats, but she wanted to get him something special that he wouldn't buy for himself, and that she thought was sexy.

"That's real leather?"

"Yeah… it's all leathery…"

"Aw Lorelai… you shouldn't have…"

"What? You don't like it?" Lorelai sank.

"No… I mean, yes… I do... its just … it's too much…"

"Not if I think you deserve it…"

Luke turned shy and humble again; and Lorelai thought maybe his cheeks tinged red a little. "Thank you… both of you…" Luke wasn't used to getting gifts on his birthday. His parents were long dead. His sister, Liz, was a flake and was lucky if she could remember her own birthday, let alone her brother's. Rachel hated birthdays and Luke had gotten into the habit of not giving or getting anyone anything. When Lorelai first started talking about Rory's birthday, it sparked something in Luke to get Rory something special. Obviously, Rory wanted to return the favor with the baseball cards, even know she didn't know the difference between a ball and a foul or anything else about the game.

"Try it on," Lorelai urged.

"Now?"

"Now," she insisted.

Luke stood in front of the fireplace, and slipped on the trendy coat. He was surprised Lorelai had known his size and how perfectly it fit him, although he knew her to be a self-proclaimed fashion expert.

"Turn around," Lorelai smiled, which elicited an eye roll from Luke, but he obliged. Lorelai examined her beau, "Well, usually you wouldn't wear it with flannel… or the ball cap… but I think I could have you escort me in public wearing that on our next date."

Luke shed his leather gift realizing flannel was too warm to wear with his new jacket. Lorelai ushered him to sit down again as she cleared away the ruined wrapping paper, gift boxes and gifts from the coffee table.

Rory went about turning off the lamps in the room, apparently for the movie they had planned, but then she stood in front of the TV as misdirection. Just as Luke had suspected, Lorelai was now bringing in Rory's cake with four lit candles on the top. Lorelai brought the cake to the coffee table; thankfully, without dropping it or setting the place on fire. Despite Luke's protests and eye rolls, both girls sang on, and then begged Luke to make his wish. To make them happy, he blew out his candles and made a wish, hoping that it would come true within the next year.

"Okay, movie time!" Rory changed gears again. She turned a few of the lights back on; then, she ran in to the kitchen to make popcorn and cued up the tape from Stars Hollow Video. Lorelai insisted that Luke stay seated, and Lorelai went to get plates and forks for Luke to serve the cake.

Luke cut the cake and had to ask, "Why four candles?"

Rory answered, "The blue ones are worth 10, and the green one is worth 1, therefore making 31."

After the pieces of Rory's cake were cut and distributed, Lorelai stood in front of the TV with Rory. Lorelai cleared her throat, and Rory stood beside her looking as if she was going to burst into laughter, but she made a respectable effort at holding the snickers in. "Ladies,"Lorelai cordially nodded to her mini counterpart on her left, "and Gentle_man_," referring to Luke on the couch, "on behave of the Gilmore girls we would like to welcome you to this private screening In honor of our own Stars Hollow quiet man…So I present to you… The Quiet Man," Lorelai gestured to the TV like a waiter presenting an inviting entrée.

Rory chimed in, "with John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, directed by John Ford."

Never missing a beat, Lorelai quipped, "Even though you are a Chevy man."

Rory rolled her eyes, and as she settled to sit next to Luke, whispered, "She worked on her delivery all day."

Both girls settled on the couch with cake and with Luke, while Luke marveled at the striking difference between this birthday and his last.

As the events and complications unfolded for Shawn Thornton and Mary Kate Danaher, Lorelai began to think Luke had some John Wayne features in his face, and loved the parallels of character between Luke and _The Duke_. How from the moment they met, the moment they saw each other Mary Kate and Shawn knew they would be together. Similarly, Luke and Lorelai were obviously attracted to each other with their banter and fighting. Granted the fights between Mary Kate and Shawn were far more feisty than the everyday banter of Luke and Lorelai. Yet, the movie struck a chord with Lorelai. She realized that they were in early November, holidays were just around the corner, which meant having to explain Luke to her mother, considering he had become such a intricate part of the Gilmore girl's existence that to not talk about him during those upcoming holiday engagements would take a great deal of preparation.

What also struck Lorelai was the hardened disapproval of Mary Kate's brother to allow Shawn to marry Mary Kate. Would Emily be so stern? Write Lorelai out of the Will? Granted Lorelai knew Luke would take care of her, and she was practically disowned as it was, but to never have the hope of even coming to an understanding with both of her folks, of them never accepting or respecting who she was and had become by running away all those years ago.

What if she had never met Luke? Would Chris have eventually come back? Would she meet someone who liked kids? A teacher, perhaps? Would she have become a spinster that her parents would try to pawn off onto her father's business associates, so at least Emily could say to the biddies at the D.A.R that Lorelai was married?

Lorelai saw how things had worked out for Shawn and Mary Kate on the screen, the Hollywood happy ending. Would she be so lucky with Luke? By the end of this picture would all involved parties rejoice in their union?

Lorelai was reminded of the third installment of her gift waiting for Luke upstairs, she wondered if she should wait or proceed as planned. He seemed content with what had, why embarrass him with more gifts?

While the adults were thinking their profound thoughts, Rory entertained herself by keeping a tally of how many cigarettes John Wayne went through during the movie, enjoying all the Irish characters, accents, and phrases, and finding funny observations, like "Who was that weird random guy by the fire place in the widow Tillane's study?"

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After the movie, Rory was sleepy and went to bed, leaving Lorelai and Luke to finish off his birthday by themselves with a more private celebration.

Alone in Lorelai's room, nature took its course, and afterward, Lorelai nuzzled Luke's neck and sighed, "Hmmm, Happy Birthday," perfectly content and satisfied with the entire day and particularly with the last half hour.

"You're gonna make me start liking birthdays," Luke grinned at the ceiling, then made the sudden connection, "Hey, when's your birthday?"

"Oh umm, it doesn't matter…"

"How am I gonna return the favor if you don't tell me?"

"Oh it …was, you know… April 13th," she said quickly.

"April? It was back in April and you didn't tell me?"

"Well, we just started dating then… I didn't want you to feel obligated or under any pressure… everything was already hard enough. Rory didn't know about us… and I didn't want to have to explain why I couldn't spend my birthday with you … or with her."

"Well, next year… we are spending that day together … the three of us… and I'm gonna make up for what I missed…"

"Luke, really you don't have to."

"I want to…and that's final."

Lorelai agreed, rubbing his chest hair fondly, "Oh, by the way, I have another present for you…" and she sprang up barely keeping the sheet around her.

"Is this to beat me at birthday celebrations…because I will one up you somehow… EHA1 "

"Just take it!" Lorelai thrust the small box in his direction.

"Please, you've done enough… you cooked for the first time ever… with Rory's help. You got me the leather jacket, which is way better than I deserve… a new ball cap, baseball cards... John Wayne…"

"Well, you definitely deserve this one," and Lorelai handed Luke a small box.

Naturally curious Luke opened his final present, he wondered if there was a ring in side, and Lorelai was proposing to him, modern woman that she was. He took off the lid of the small gold box, and he found a metal key in it. Luke held the cool metal in his hand and looked up at Lorelai for an explanation.

"Do you … like it?" she asked.

"It's…a key?" he said simply.

"Yeah," Lorelai said with a broad grin.

"Don't tell me it's a key to your heart," Luke said sarcastically.

"NO!" she swatted at him.

"Then…to what?"

"The house," Lorelai shrugged, as if that would make her intentions clear as day.

"In case you lock the front door for once?"

"Luke," she swatted at his arm again, "the key was supposed to say something…"

"Well …what?"

"I want you," Lorelai drew a deep breath, "I want you … to move in."

She was proposing, only not what he thought, Luke raised an eyebrow, "Move in?"

"Here. With me and Rory…"

"You're kidding…"

"No, I'm not," she shook her head from side to side.

"Isn't this… a huge step?"

"Well, from my perspective… it's a baby step… a trial period…to see if we can stand sharing a closet…"

"There isn't room in your closet…"

"There is now," she smiled shyly.

"What?"

"Well, I got a head start on my rummage sale sorting…so there is now room for you and your stuff…"

"Lorelai…moving in? That's just..." Luke was overwhelmed.

"What you are ready to get married but not live together? How Modern of you?" thinking of the obscure _Kids In the Hall_ sketch.

"…And you are ready to move in and not get married?"

"Yeah, see, we're perfect for each other…"

"Apparently…" he said dryly.

Unfortunately, he didn't seem to be going for it, so Lorelai covered her disappointment quickly. "Luke… I wanted to run it past you… before I even asked Rory…so she doesn't know… you can just keep it … as a spare… in case we ever do lock the doors." It was a lie. She had asked Rory before she had the key made. Lorelai wanted to ask back over the summer when the idea first came to her when Luke called her house home in a Freudian slip during a date; but Lorelai was afraid Rory wouldn't keep the secret. When asked for her opinion, Rory was so excited by the prospect, but was confused why her mother and Luke just didn't get married already, and blatantly said so. Lorelai successfully dodged those questions with evasive answers, using the trial period excuse on Rory as well, which seemed to satisfy her daughter.

"Lorelai…" Luke finally said.

"Yeah," she was playing with her comforter's stitching at the hem.

Luke thought about the girls, about his selfish need to have them in his life. Sure it wasn't marriage, but it was Lorelai's way to letting him in further, and by doing so it was cementing his place in their world, so Luke turned to her and Luke said "Let's move in…" with a smile.

**Lorelai squealed with happiness as she lunged at him in the bed and wrapped her arms around his neck and she adjusted to sit in his lap as she kissed him, giving him the final portion of his birthday present.**

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**A/N: every St Patty's Day my sis and I watch the quiet man and three cheers for the Irish (no we are not irish… we just like em!) **

**We always count the Duke's cigarettes for a laugh especially when he lights em takes one puff then angrily throws them away… it's funny! **

**A/N: Featured Refrian: inHONOR of ASP's departure from srewing our show further...  
I am proud to present... So Long My Friend... **

**I heard your record on the telephone  
It was my cousin, Joan  
She picked it up from the top 40 rack and then  
I read your interview in Rolling Stone  
You threw the boys a bone  
And so I genuinely felt obliged to call  
I know You never meant to hurt us, man  
We're just a baby band  
You found a quicker way  
To scale the wall of fame  
The situation's awfully dim  
Should we up and go with him?  
No way no way, 1, 2, 3, 4  
(chorus)  
We know exactly where you are, and you're gone my friend  
Don't know exactly where you're coming from  
You've gone away my friend  
We know exactly where you are, and you're gone my friend  
Don't know exactly where you're coming from  
Have you gone astray gone  
I saw your video on VH-1  
Looks like they spent a ton  
How does it feel to be the flavor for a spell  
And I remember when you used to say  
"United is the way"  
I never thought I'd see your light begin to fade  
The situation's awfully dim  
Should we up and go with him?  
No way no way, 1, 2, 3, 4  
(repeat chorus)  
(bridge)  
Don't think we don't miss you  
We think about you every day  
We still love you anyway  
Love don't go away  
There's still this burning question  
I got to know Why?  
What will people think when they  
Ah, ah, ah hey  
While this is something of fantasy  
The moral of the story is  
To stick with your friends  
Ah, ah, ah, ah hey  
Ah, ah, ah, hey  
Ah, ah, ah hey, hey, 1, 2, 3, 4  
(repeat chorus)  
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, and you're gone my friend  
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, so long  
You've gone away, my friend  
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, and you're gone my friend  
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, so long  
We'll see you someday  
Wish you well  
Na, na, na, na, na, my friend  
**  
**A/N: You all know how I like to get on my soapbox (because I have the high ground) and rant… well I have another STATEMENT that we must make TOGETHER, A plea really. **

**On that impending day when the Season 6 DVDs come out… PLEASE I beg you, my crack whores, my minions, my casual readers…if you loved GG ever! DO NOT BUY SEASON SIX OF GILMORE GIRLS **

**Reasons: **

**-Why would you want to shell out the dough to relive such an abysmal season, if necessary it will be syndicated in the fall I'm sure, watch it, if you HAVE TO, for free. **

**-Hit ASP/DP in the Royalties and DO NOT contribute to validating their HALF ASSED VINDICTIVE DRIBBLE  
-IF you ABSOLUTELY MUST buy it to complete your collection… PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, if you have any love for me at all… please WAIT until Season 7 comes out (Buy season 7 FIRST then buy 6 a week later) … it won't go anywhere… it will still be there… **

**I want it to have the lowest preorder/first day sales of all the seasons…**

**Please be strong and make the STATEMENT with me… join the resistance! **

**I thank you for your time… my darling crack whores and fans **

**7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
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R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund...**


	36. Shouldn’t We Be Thankful…Or Something?

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. **

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: AW If you DON'T KNOW BY NOW! HURUMPH! **

**LUVZ: I miss you! **

**FEATURED BETA: Localizy, _What Can I Say…_ **

**No seriously go read Localizy's fic _what can I say_…. read this first… then go to her's! **

**A/N: I have to say it now... I... Am...So ... DAMN... PROUD OF THIS CHAPTER  
worth the wait? for QUALITY FAN FICTION? you tell me...**

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**Chapter 36:  
Shouldn't We Be Thankful…Or Something? **

In the week since Luke's birthday, Lorelai and Rory had helped him sort and pack most of his belongings at his apartment. His old apartment, that once was his father's old hardware office, was an office again with only some of the furniture and the trophies Luke had displayed as any reminder that he had lived there. They were happily situated on the floor of the old apartment, the girls laughing as they packed boxes and carried them to the truck ignoring the fact that there were a few mystery items Luke felt were too delicate for the girls to sort through, for one reason or another. Lorelai and Rory only shrugged at each other at how protective Luke was being over certain things that were already boxed away, but let it roll off their backs with plenty else to keep them busy.

They worked quickly so the majority of Luke's clothes, books, and anything else he deemed worthy had been boxed, labeled, and ready to be loaded into his truck for its three-block journey, to his new address with the Gilmore girls. Rory naturally became distracted by his books, particularly the old cookbooks he had. Luke had to smile as he saw her sitting Indian style on the floor pouring over the pages; forgetting to put the books into the box next to her. "Rory, you can read it all you want once it's at the house."

"Oh, I'm sorry, it's just some of these seem I don't know… really hard to do. How did anyone have the time?"

"Well, my mother stayed at home, so she had lots of time to cook."

Rory then seemed to treat the books like sacred treasures. "These were your mother's," Rory said in awe. Luke knelt down beside her and flipped the pages back to show Rory the name handwritten inside the front cover. It said Katherine Parker, which had been struck out with lines, and beneath it was written in a beautiful penmanship: Katherine Danes.

"Parker was your mother's maiden name?"

"Yeah."

Rory sat and stared at the crossed out name for a moment, with her brow furrowed, but then she gently packed the book away with care and didn't say another word as she finished that box.

Lorelai had witnessed the scene from Luke's closet as she was folding up his shirts and wondering which ones were worth the fight to get rid of them from Luke's wardrobe.

Lorelai insisted that Luke had to spend his last night at the apartment, to say goodbye, or something, and he could come over with his first load the following morning.

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Luke knocked on the front door, "Hey Lorelai!"

"Hey!" Lorelai called from inside, "You have a key!" she gently reminded him.

"My hands are full, could you just open the door!"

Today was the moving day, Lorelai hadn't expected him so early knocking at her door, _Does he know me at all? I'm not a morning person._ She wasn't ready to move the boxes since she was still in her PJs. She had a grip on the doorknob for him, "What was the point of giving you a key if…" and as the door swung open, Lorelai's jaw dropped at the sight on the porch, "What's that?"

"It's a mirrored table," Luke said shyly leaning on the porch rail.

"Is that the one from Kim's antiques?"

"Yeah, I asked Mrs. Kim and she said you liked this one…"

"Why-why did you get it? I was going to get it…"

"Well, you always talked about it… you never actually went for it… and I thought it would look good in the foyer. Finally having it here would be better than tossing your shoes and coats on the floor all the time. It's sort of a… housewarming gift."

"A what?"

"A 'happy we're moving in together' gift."

"Luke…" she smiled, with her eyes and nose all wrinkled up with the attempt not to cry, the only thing she could say was "I love you."

"Back at ya," Luke hugged her on the porch steps.

Lorelai turned to the table and caressed the wood, "I love it. How did Mrs. Kim let you buy? If there is anything she is against it would be an unmarried couple moving in together? I didn't think she'd approve."

"You should have seen the shaving table she tried to sell me, but I didn't exactly tell her… you know we were moving in together…"

"Ahh, another secret Lane is gonna have to keep."

Luke had surprised Lorelai with his thoughtful gift and Lorelai surprised Luke by enlisting their friends and neighbors to help with the move. The town had already assumed they were living together and were somewhat confused by the need for Luke to finally move his things to Lorelai's home. Everyone helped with the loads, congratulated the little family; saying it was about time, and hoping this meant further good things in their future. Luke only smiled at the suggestions and didn't say anything further on the subject and Lorelai knew he was respecting her wishes. When she was ready for that step, she would tell him. Lorelai knew that step might still be off a ways, considering she was only trying to survive through the impending holiday season and having to see and deal with her parents.

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After a hard weekend of moving boxes from Luke's old apartment to his new house and living arrangement with the Gilmores, Lorelai wanted to pamper herself with a nice, luxurious bubble bath, while Luke and Rory continued to organize his boxes down in the living room.

After her bath, Lorelai was at her vanity in a pale blue nightie, applying lotion to her skin. It was a daily ritual of pumping and smoothing the lotion on her arms and legs, combating the impending dry air of fall and winter since she was now certain of having a man sleep beside her every night. Finally, she looked over her shoulder and saw Luke was leaning in the bedroom doorway and she was startled by his covert study of her, "What are you doing?"

"Just watching you," Luke confessed from his perch in at the doorframe.

"Okay, Mr. Creepy," she said to herself as she smoothed another pump's worth of lotion on her décolleté, shoulders, and neck.

"It's just… I can't believe it… I mean…we're living together…"

"Yeah, we are…" she smiled, looking at his reflection in her mirror.

"I just can't even believe sometimes that this is now my life. I get to be with you and Rory all the time now," and Luke's expression seemed to be growing content and peaceful as he spoke.

"Well, I told you … you were voted into the club…"

Luke walked up behind her and started to rub her shoulders and kissed the top of her head, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"What's that smell?"

"Good or bad?" she asked warily.

"Good," he admitted with a laugh.

"Oh, well that's me," she said with mock humility.

Luke picked up the bottle, "Black Raspberry Vanilla? Are you supposed to eat it?"

"No, it's supposed to make me smell pretty," she stood up and wrapped her freshly fragranced and moisturized arms around his neck, "Don't you think?"

Luke smiled, pulled her towards the bed, and sighed before kissing her, "I could get used to this."

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The first weeks of the new living arrangement had been met with mutual felicity by the forming family. Rory liked getting her Luke's breakfast in her kitchen rather than having to travel all the way to the diner and besides Luke pancakes were better than mere pop tarts any day. Luke went about chores and home improvement tasks Lorelai suggested and consequently had started her own "honey do" list for him. Lorelai was helpful in trying to find room for some of his things in the house, since most of his boxes were just piled into the living room for the moment; and she went window-shopping for bookcases and storage bins.

As Luke entrenched himself further into their lives, Lorelai would only occasionally think about Chris, from time to time. Sometimes she would feel angry, sometimes sad, sometimes guilty, but mostly she was relieved. He was the one who fell off the face of the earth over and over again. It's not as if she had jumped into bed with the first guy she met while Rory was still a baby. She had taken her role as a mother very seriously, denied herself any selfish pleasures or pursuits, when no one knew how Chris lived his footloose and fancy-free life wherever he was these days. Lorelai would watch Rory and Luke together and wish she had found him sooner. Rory would have had Luke for those crucial young years and Luke, she knew, would have shined then as he does now being a natural father figure. Lorelai knew there had to be a reason they met when they did and she was so thankful for Luke to be in her life.

Lorelai was happy. She could tell Rory was happy, and she was quite certain Luke was happy too. Lorelai was content to stand back and watch Luke and Rory interact in their new living arrangement. Rory and Luke would sit on the couch and read together. They would cook and embraced the culinary delights that came with the fall season, together a team making a large batch of Luke's pumpkin soup that lasted two weeks.

However, all good things must end. When Lorelai and Luke had their first fight after moving in together there was no hiding from each other since they now shared a room.

"Thank you," she started sweetly and innocently enough.

"For what?" Luke looked up at her.

"Changing the water bottle" she paused, "again!"

"You know there's water that comes out of the faucet, why do you spend the extra money on this bottle?"

"I like how it dispenses."

"But you can't even lift the bottle."

"Well, that is why I sleep with you baby…and every time you change it, it gives me a great view of your butt when you crouch down," she tilted her head.

"Lorelai!" Luke straightened up from the floor.

"Worth every penny."

"If you are done admiring," he droned dryly.

"Just a few more seconds…" she paused, "Yes?"

Luke wanted to settle their holiday plans and needed to get her input. "About Thanksgiving, I'm making Thanksgiving dinner at the diner as part of the menu, so…I thought we could just have ours there."

"Our what? Where?" Lorelai now looked at him funny; her attention was now captured by his subject line tearing her away from her copy of _Entertainment Weekly_.

"Our Thanksgiving dinner…. At the diner…" he repeated.

"Oh well, we usually go to my parents' house for Thanksgiving… 'tis the season of obligation," she faked a smile.

"Oh… okay…" Luke was visibly disappointed.

"Luke, I'm sorry this has been set in stone since before I was born. My mother is expecting us… this has been the precedent for years and years… I can't just change things on her … well without formal written notification of my imminent death first … two weeks ahead of time of course…" Lorelai didn't like the silent treatment he was suddenly giving her over things that were out of her control, "Luke, I'm sorry but, you don't know my mother…"

"That's right, I don't know your mother," he grumbled more for himself.

"Exactly, so believe me when I say I'd rather be at the diner with you and your marvelous food and I'd rather watch you parading that fantastic butt around over the Macy's Parade any day, however, Emily will hold it against me for a decade if I even think of canceling on such short notice…and since she is already holding my early pregnancy against me till the end of days…well, I really don't need any more animosity, thank you very much…"

Luke always thought it was funny how Lorelai called her mother by her first name when speaking about her, but right now he was angry that she was once again keeping him at arms length. Luke now just ignored Lorelai and went about cleaning up the water bottle he had replaced.

"Baby, you have the diner anyway, so you'll be busy…I mean you have to feed half the town…"

"Well, I was planning on having dinner with you and Rory," _instead of on my own… like before._

Lorelai assured him, "We'll be by, just a little later then normal; we can still have our dinner, a second dinner, you know how Rory and I can pack it away, but I can't get out of dinner with my parents…"

"Well, if these people mean nothing to you they why spend anytime with them at all!" he snapped.

Lorelai was surprised how his voiced had jumped to yelling so fast. "Spending the holidays with them is how I get out of seeing them the rest of the year," Lorelai she said quietly, arguing her point.

Luke was frustrated and he lowered his voice again. He had been so good up to now, he knew this time of year changed him, that little knot in his stomach was growing. He had hoped that this year would be different since he would have Lorelai there to help soothe his pain instead of turning on her as he did with everyone else, but it appeared no one was safe from his short fuse this time of year. "I'm sorry, I'm just being selfish… and of course, Rory should see her grandparents… it's just…"

"What?" Lorelai's features were marked with concern.

"Nothing," he dismissed.

"No, Luke. Tell me," she knew there had to be a reason for his mood swing.

"It's nothing. I'm good, I promise."

Lorelai didn't believe him, it wasn't like Luke to pick a fight, but he seemed sensitive and distracted the last few days and this was the first time he really raised his voice. Living together prevented any escape in the cozy Gilmore house, so Luke made some excuse about arranging some of his boxes in Lorelai's garage to escape her scrutinizing study of him. _It's…probably the Thanksgiving Prep… that's it, he's stressed with all the turkeys and stuffing he has to make for the town… that's it… yeah, that's it…_

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The days that were leading to the dreaded Thanksgiving Dinner at the elder Gilmores trickled away. As the date approached, neither Luke nor Lorelai mentioned their Thanksgiving dinner planned at the diner again. Luke wasn't expecting to be suddenly included in the invitation to her parent's house and Lorelai didn't want him to yell again.

Rory kept asking Luke questions about his recipes for Thanksgiving and if she could be of any help in his preparation. The Tuesday before, Rory helped Luke with the batches and batches of pumpkin soup of the diner's menu. Luke answered all her questions politely, but Rory could tell he was disappointed to be left out of the Gilmore invitation to Thanksgiving dinner. He assured Rory, while they made his apple raisin stuffing, that he had plenty at the diner to keep him busy during the holiday, that he had obligation of his own to the town, and that he would be looking forward to seeing them when they were done at her grandparents'. Luke knew of all people, he could never snap or be angry with Rory because she was a source of optimistic sunshine that this year's anniversary wouldn't be so bad.

"Mom, I want Luke to come…" Rory begged, wanting to have someone there she could talk to while her mom and Grandmother went at it and argued the whole night.

"Rory, I haven't even told my parents that I'm dating anyone, let alone that we're now living with him… this whole situation is…"

"Complicated?" Rory supplied.

"Well… yeah," and for the first time it hit Lorelai of what kind of example she was setting, to be living with a man, it could have been she heard Emily's disapproval again, "Look, Rory, I'm not sure how well I explained things to you… about Luke living with us…"

"I understand. You love him and you want him to be around always." _I'd just prefer it if you got married already,_ "He's like… part of our family now," Rory delicately worded without mentioning marriage again, _Not after her last flip out,_ "but isn't it important to… well spend the holidays together?"

"Of course and we will, but sometimes be have to do things we don't want to before we do the things we want to do. We HAVE to spend part of the holidays with Grandma and Grandpa and we WANT to be with Luke… you remember Easter, right?"

"Oh yeah!" Rory was suddenly distressed and nodded vigorously, recalling the memory vividly. Rory had appreciated the elaborate Easter basket her grandmother had given, but felt a little self-conscious of her grandmother trying to buy her affections. However, that was forgotten when her mother and grandma had broke into a stupid fight over Lorelai's Easter dress; a dress that was very pretty, but Emily was appalled that Lorelai had made it herself rather than admiring the unique style of the creation as Rory had.

"Well, that is why we spend as little time as possible with them… and we will make it up to Luke… by seeing him later."

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When Thanksgiving arrived, Luke left before Lorelai was awake; since he had several turkeys to prepare and because he had the clear understanding that he wasn't going to join them at Lorelai's parents' house. Luke crept into Rory's room to say goodbye before he went to the diner, and smiled at Rory when she assured that they would be at the diner as soon as her Grandmother released them, and that she wanted to try all of Luke's homemade creations, especially the pumpkin pie.

That evening, Lorelai and Rory were at the intimidating front door of the elder Gilmore's. As Rory grew older it seemed to grow less and less scary, but she still didn't like this forced obligation to see grandparents. She wondered if she could hide behind the bouquet of flowers they traditionally brought to her Grandmother.

Suddenly flooded with old memories of her child hood home, Lorelai coached her daughter, "Okay, remember do not mention that Christopher contacted us, whenever his name is brought up things get… ugly…"

"Right," Rory agreed, recalling how a vein in her Grandfather's forehead would bulge whenever Christopher's name was mentioned and Rory steeled herself for a three-hour dinner with her grandparents.

During dinner the conversation was sparse. Usually, Richard Gilmore had clients over to discuss business and fawned over how bright and adorable Rory was to their guests, but this year it was just the four of them, which made air between Emily and Lorelai absolutely bellicose since there was no one to keep up pretenses for. Rory busied herself by contemplating the stuffing her Grandma served. It was definitely in contention with Luke's apple-raisin number, but Rory still liked Luke's best having snuck pinches of the tasty dish as they made it together, and Rory couldn't wait to enjoy it at the diner. She was going to ask her grandma about the recipe of the stuffing on her plate, because it was delicious, as always, and she wanted to see if she could replicate it at home. However, Rory knew her grandma merely planned the dinner and never lifted a spatula and Rory had always found that the less conversation there was at the table, the faster dinner seemed to go, the faster they could go home, especially since this year there was Luke's dinner and pumpkin pie to look forward to at the diner.

Emily had been directing her usual chill toward Lorelai, but was all warmth and smiles toward Rory's side of the table. Emily knew it was next to useless to talk to her daughter, so she focused on getting better acquainted with her granddaughter, "So… Rory? Did you do anything fun over the summer?" Emily asked in a sweet endearing tone.

Rory was brought out of her preoccupation with the stuffing, realizing now she had to speak, "Oh, umm, nothing special… we just stayed around town this year…"

"Oh," Emily tried to recover from the short answer and think of another question, "Well, did you have any fun adventures in Stars Burrow?"

"Hollow?" Lorelai corrected, rolling her eyes, as she stabbed at the gross green bean side dish her mother put on the menu every year; _just because she knows I hate it!_

"I beg your pardon?" Emily turned with her eyes narrowed to her daughter.

Rory didn't want that to be the fuse to a fight in what had been a civil, though cold, evening, "Hollow… its Stars Hollow," Rory explained, stealing her grandmother's attention again.

"I see and nothing exciting ever happens in Stars Hollow? Why ever do you stay?" Emily directed her cold gaze to Lorelai again.

Rory was stumped, her mom said she couldn't mention Christopher, which was the most drama that had happened since the summer. Rory also thought it best not to mention the discovery of the Dragonfly Inn and her mother's plans for it, so the best she had was, "I caught chicken pox," Rory offered lamely.

"Oh My God!" Emily exclaimed, "You had the chicken pox! Richard, she had the chicken pox!" and Rory was surprised by how hard her grandmother was taking the common malady.

"I heard, Emily, calm down," Richard spoke up finally, "It's not such a big deal now-a-days."

In all fairness, Rory wasn't sure her grandfather liked her very much, he was always working on business or otherwise never said a word. In fact his remark had startled her in her seat, since he had been silent and stoic whenever they came over. Lorelai told Rory that Grandpa Gilmore was upset; dwelling on issues and things that he couldn't change or fix, issues that Rory may understand when she got older, but for now she should leave him be.

Lorelai now tried to sooth Emily, "Mom, look at her, she's fine, not a scratch." Lorelai smiled at her unintended pun and Rory grinned back at her, understanding the joke instantly.

Emily didn't find the situation funny at all, "You could have at least called… to let us know… I could have sent her a care package or a card …"

_Because the card would have so helped with all the scratching, _"Mom, if she had been really sick… you would have heard... I would have told you…" _maybe…possibly…in an alternate universe…where you actually like me!_ Lorelai stabbed at her turkey again,_ GOD! Tryptophan, take me away!_

Another frosty gaze went to Lorelai from Emily, then soon melted again when Emily addressed her granddaughter, "So, Rory, how are you liking middle school?" trying to make this time of Rory's life seem like it's the best it's ever going to be.

_I certainly hope not,_ Rory thought. "Fine, I finished my book list over the summer… so I'm a step ahead of everyone else."

"As always," Lorelai boasted as she cut another bite of turkey, if her parents couldn't be proud of any of her former accomplishments, they could at least be proud of their perfect, angel granddaughter.

Another failing short-lived subject made Emily try another, "Did you like the birthday present your grandfather and I sent?"

"Umm yeah, very much, umm, thank you," again Rory was just being polite, she was a little old and too practical for a frivolous Tiffany tea party set, so her mother promptly put it in the garage still in the box, "Its very…elegant," she recalled the polite compliment from Jane Austen's _Emma._

"Did you have a favorite gift this year?" Emily was no doubt fishing for a compliment from the 12 year old over her impeccable taste in gifts, yet knowing in her heart she would like whatever Lorelai got for her much better.

"Well, I loved the new stereo mom got me and I've watched all 6 hours of the Pride and Prejudice movie Luke got for me like three times already. I just can't get enough…"

"Who's Luke?" Grandma Gilmore asked, interrupting Rory's animated talk.

Luke's name hung in the air, and Rory mirrored the brief look of horror on her mother's face as mother and daughter met eyes across the table. Rory clamed up and focused on eating her cranberries as fast as possible to ensure their quick get away. Rory successfully avoided mentioning her contact with Christopher, or the Dragonfly's future, but had accidentally let Luke's name slip… again. Rory felt overwhelming guilt like she had back when she betrayed Luke's name to Christopher and here she gave her grandmother more information than her mother wanted, served up just like the turkey.

"Rory? I asked you a question…" Emily politely repeated, noticing the child's blush.

Rory decided in this instance it was best to lie, "A boy… at school," she still kept her eyes on her plate so her grandmother wouldn't see the truth in her eyes.

"Oh, careful Rory, you are going to match your side dish," a smug grin dawned on Emily's face, a grin that appeared when she had the upper hand in some instance and she sweetly teased her granddaughter. "I think someone has a little crush."

_Gross! That's my mother's boyfriend_. "Umm yeah… a small one… a very small one… not even a crush of consequence…"

"A crush of consequence? Did you hear that Richard?"

"Umm yes, aren't the boys just dreamy now-a-days," Richard was more focused on his tiny notebook, filled with notes from his last meeting.

"So this Luke, gave you a movie? For your birthday?"

"Yes," Rory said in a small voice.

"My, my, a 6 hour movie… three times in a month," Emily observed.

Rory looked across the table at Lorelai, her large blue eyes pleading for forgiveness from her mother for the slip up.

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Lorelai and Rory had almost made a clean get away until Emily spoke just before they could make their escape. "Oh, Lorelai could I speak to you in the study for a moment…"

"Mom… really it's getting late… we should really get Rory to bed… let that tryptophan take it's desired effect."

"It will only take a minute," Emily said in a sweet tone.

From years of experience, Lorelai knew there was a hint of malice behind that tone; she could feel the fight finally coming on the way spider-man would sense impending danger.

Reluctantly she left Rory in the hall with a muttered, "I'll be right back" and followed her mother to the study. Feeling 16 again and knowing she was in trouble, there was a foreboding click of the door that seemed to signal to Lorelai that there was no escape from the conversation with her mother.

"How could you let Rory run around like that?" Emily automatically went into accusatory.

"Like what?" Lorelai turned around to question, not understanding her mother being upset with Rory of all people, but knowing whatever caused Emily's displeasure it was Lorelai's fault. Rory had been a perfect angel all through dinner, _maybe she meant her clothes, but that's the dress Rory picked out, the one she wanted to wear…well, she wanted to wear it for Luke… _

"Really, Lorelai… she is only 11…"

"12," Lorelai corrected.

Unfazed, Emily continued, "Is this is what has become of her… being raised by you alone in Stars Narrow…"

"Stars Hollow," Lorelai coldly corrected again, "… And what's the problem?"

"The problem is she is only 12 and she is already boy crazy just like you were."

"What are you talking about?" _Hello, Mom have you met Rory?_

"This boy at school… Duke was it?"

_Oh no…_Lorelai sank. She knew then she was going to have to explain everything to Emily once her mother finished her tangent and lecture.

"…Some unknown, unwashed reprobate who will grow up to a job with his name on his shirt."

"Seriously mom…do you hear yourself?" Lorelai asked.

"…Heaven help you if she runs around like you did… Sneaking out of the house lying about where she's been. This is where it starts, she's gonna think of nothing else... her grades are going to slip and its goodbye Harvard… or worse." Emily narrowed her eyes with the threat and muttered coldly, "She'll turn out just like you… get pregnant too young."

_She doesn't even have her period yet, _"Mom, you have the wrong idea," Lorelai said firmly but quietly, feeling like a teen again in Emily's commanding presence.

"Oh, do I? Lord knows what you are putting into her head… with your… unique parenting style…" referring to Lorelai's insistence to raise a child alone, "What type of example you are setting, we never see you or your exemplarily parenting…" Emily condescended.

_Yeah, I wonder why?_ "Mom, she's the top of all her classes, could I really be slipping as a parent if she wasn't on the honor roll every semester? What more do you want?"

"You were on the honor roll too as I recall…and look how that turned out…" Emily said snidely, "She doesn't even have a male role model… and you've made it perfectly clear you want nothing to do with…"

"She has a male role model…" Lorelai cut in.

"Oh really, who? Her grandfather hardly sees her…you've successfully shut Christopher out of her life…"

_Oh here we go, _"Mom, he shut himself out of her life… he's the one who hasn't called? ...Or visited!"

"Well, maybe you should visit him?"

"Been there, done that!"

"Well, maybe you should encourage him more…"

"Why is it my responsibility to coddle and appease Christopher or his schedule or his location… he's the one that went to California or have you forgotten he left us!"

"Only because you didn't get married…" Emily shouted, as if that event would have fixed everything.

Lorelai ignored Emily, and continued, "Christopher knows he can visit, he knows he can call… even when he expresses an interest he flakes…" Lorelai was ever so careful not to mention the recent disappointment over the last post card.

"Well then, who is this wonderful role model she has… I can only imagine the charming beaus that frequent your love life."

That hurt the most. That Emily didn't see Lorelai as the lady she raised. Since she had gotten pregnant so young she was forever that marked her with a "scarlet A" or "D" for disappointment, or "H" for harlot or hussy, in Emily's eyes.Lorelai's own eyes were stinging; because Emily never saw what a good mother she had been to Rory. Emily never heard all the praise Lorelai had gotten from Mia, Luke, and from the town on how she pulled it together on her own to rear Rory; that by their estimation Lorelai had been a true success. Emily never saw how seriously Lorelai took that role on day to day, so seriously that it wasn't till now, ten years later that she felt she deserved to be a little selfish and have a Luke in the picture.

Lorelai was angry that her mother thought so little of her; that the only men who could interest her were bikers and vagrants. If only Emily would open her mind for just a second to see the wonderful gentleman Lorelai had found in Stars Hollow. Lorelai took a deep breath, and decided she would give Emily a clearer picture, or a heart attack, she wasn't sure which she'd prefer.

"Mom, Luke isn't Rory's boyfriend… he's mine," Lorelai confessed.

"What?" Emily suddenly was off guard, wondering if she had raised Lorelai to be a Mrs. Robinson, seducing her Rory's beau.

"Luke is _my_ boyfriend. We've been seeing each other for some time now and that's why he got Rory a present for her birthday…and she loves it so much… because Rory loves him… and I love him, too." _That wasn't so bad._

Emily's mouth gaped, staring at Lorelai as if she had turned purple. When Emily didn't speak for a full minute, Lorelai took that as permission to leave, and walked out of the study to take Rory home.

_Let's do this again at Christmas,_ Lorelai thought as she left the front door.

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Never before had Lorelai so longed for the antebellum of her childhood. Granted she had always been a rebellious child, but her prepubescent antics hadn't inspired the merry war that seemed to be between Emily and Lorelai.

After her confession to Emily, it was a full 10 minutes before Lorelai could start up the Jeep; for all she knew, during that 10 minutes Emily was still frozen to the spot, as well. She sat on the driver's side, with her hands firmly on the steering wheel leaning forward, her head resting on the backs of her hands, shaking her head in disbelief. After Lorelai told Rory what happened, the only thing Rory could do was pat her mother's back to comfort her. Lorelai had spared Rory all the mortifying, humbling details, she basically told her daughter that she informed Emily about Luke, and told her straight away that she was in love with him to boot.

Lorelai sighed in relief over entering the friendly diner in Stars Hollow with the happy jingle of the bells, and hoped Luke would see that what she needed the most was sympathy and pie. Luke did not disappoint her expectation, and greeted them both warmly at the door.

"Hey, how was dinner?" he said shyly, feeling guilty for giving Lorelai a hard time about the obligation to her parents, which he knew full well she hated.

Lorelai needed comfort and wrapped Luke in a long hug, "Aw, same old, same old," Lorelai didn't know how to tell Luke that he wasn't a secret any longer. She only hoped that once he knew that his anonymity had been compromised and thusly lost during the dinner, once he realizedthat he would have to suffer Emily's condescension; her constant poking, and prodding, needling and persistent intrusion into his life by his connection to the Gilmore Girls, that he would stay with her and Rory, no matter how awful Richard and Emily would be to him.

Luke offered them more turkey, which they happily accepted since both of his girls were in need of comfort food. When dessert rolled around, Luke asked how they wanted their pie. Lorelai went into a _When Harry Met Sally_ quote with Meg Ryan's bit about pie being heated and a la mode. Luke was confused as Rory sleepily giggled. Luke went about heating the pie and scooped the desired ice cream on it, wanting it to be his apology for snapping at Lorelai a few days before.

As Luke cleared the plates, he was able to keep his demons at bay during their second Thanksgiving dinner, and have a pleasant evening with the girls. Luke could feel the change in him coming on, he knew he was being short with everyone; he'd blurt things out that he'd soon regret, despite hating this time of year, he never thought he'd turn on Lorelai and hoped he could protect Rory from his sensitive temper for the next few days.

The tryptophan took its desired effect on Rory and she leaned on her mother as Luke went about closing the diner. Luke carried Rory out to the car and they headed for the house. When they dressed for bed, he wondered if Lorelai had noticed the change in him over the last week or if she had her own suspicions on his behavior. She seemed just to be happy that they were talking to each other again, so Luke decided not to stir the pot.

To continue the peace making, Luke decided to greet her as soon as she entered their bedroom that evening. Lorelai was moisturized and smelling like sweet raspberries again, and nearly walked straight into him, "Luke?" smiling at the familiar glint in his eyes.

Luke simply kissed her, hard and full of passion, and after the abuse from her mother, Lorelai was eager to receive such affection; to feel worthy, respected, and admired. Luke moved his kisses to her neck, and mumbled against her skin, "Do you know …what I'm thankful for?"

"I can make a few guesses?" Lorelai said archly.

"For you," he kissed the opposite side of her neck, "for Rory," then he kissed her forehead.

"For baseball…and _home runs_?" she insinuated, sliding her hands down to his perfect butt.

"Especially for home runs."

"Well, let's root for the home team…" and she kissed him on the lips.

They lay on the bed, kissed, and apologized for the silly misunderstanding from a few days ago; both pleased how the evening was turning out. Lorelai hated to halt their progress, but she had a very good reason to stop. "Mmm, Luke, I would love to keep this up. Mmm, but I have to get up early…"

"You have off tomorrow," he reminded her enticing her with more kisses, and slipping his hand under her maroon nightie.

"I know, I know," she sighed and regretted as Luke's hand slipped under her night gown, slowly massaging her back, "but I promised Rory, it's black Friday."

Luke propped up on his elbows to look down at her, wondering if she had a similar painful anniversary to his own, "Black Friday?"

"Yeah… you know… all the after thanksgiving sales…"

Seeing that her observance wasn't sentimental, as his was, but merely blatant materialism, he was a little annoyed and pulled away, giving up on his romantic advance. "Oh, okay."

"Luke, you know I'd love too, but it's just like when you get up for your deliveries… in order to get the door buster savings…we have to be up before dawn…"

"Sure," Luke said shortly.

"Luke…don't be mad, this is… just another tradition that Rory and I have since she could keep up with me and my shopper's sprint… we've always done this. It's just another tradition you walked in on…"

"Tradition," he said quietly, thinking of his own little tradition that fell on Saturday this year.

"Yeah and for Christmas I promise we'll makes some more new ones… for all three of us… okay?"

"Okay," Luke tried to be indifferent, tried to tell himself it was alright for them to do things on their own… without him; Lorelai and Rory were mother and daughter after all, they were family. They had their traditions and he had his own. Luke went to his side of the bed to go to sleep.

Lorelai was a little hurt that he didn't even seem to want to hold her now, he just rounded to his side of the bed, with his back to her and settled in for the night with the comment, "Try not to wake me when you leave."

"Okay?" Lorelai agreed quietly, not only hurting still from her mother's barrage of spiteful comments, but now from the apparent freeze out she was getting from Luke. "Good night," she whispered before turning onto her side, waiting for a response in kind from Luke. One didn't come and she fell into a restless sleep, hoping things would be better tomorrow.

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A/N: Now you know why... I... Am...So ... DAMN... PROUD OF THIS CHAPTER! **

**A/N: I would like to declare a BETA APPPRECIATION DAY! SO Please ALL OF YOU (My Minions) GO TO Localizy's fics and REVIEW EM, she loves em as much as I do. (I recommend _What Can I Say…_… I HELPED!)**

**For all she does for me and ALL MY STORIES, scarifying her own stories… to be a good aunt to the nieces that I write.**

**Not many of you know this, but I work in like quotas… I like to have my chapters be at least like oh say 3000-5000 words that way I feel it's worth your time (I'm considerate that way!) … well this little quirk trait, preference whatever it is … IS SO lovingly ENDURED by my lovely BETA Localizy… who, when I add 500 words here or there gets very frustrated with me because then she has to start the whole chapter over again…for flow's sake, so IZY, I wanted to say …thank you for putting up with Anal Persnickety me,**

**Despite this Quirk, she presses on with me… cause she's AWESOME! And she's my sounding board for ideas, and she helps me rearrange things or say WOAW! That would never happen it's out of character and TOO CHEESY CUT IT!**

**So IZY thanks and I'm the only one who can call her IZY, she said so!**

**PS this chapter WAS like… 8000 words… and I've had this ready since like… what would you say Izy? Like Early to Mid April? So IZY really hated me for like two seconds… lol**

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"That was all God given talent..." why thank you NON PODLuke!  
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**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund... **


	37. Black Friday

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. **

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: AW If you DON'T KNOW BY NOW! HURUMPH! **

**LUVZ: I miss you! **

**FEATURED BETA: Localizy, _WONDER TWIN POWERS ACTIVATE_ **

**A/N: for my little Crack WHORES who are WIGGING because LL are fighting in these chapters…one word of comfort **

**TRUST **

**you may not be able to Trust SHE WHO WILL NOT BE NAMED! HOWEVER, you can still trust me, I will never go to the DARK SIDE (my refs are a little SW heavy, Localizy and I have been watching them the originals the last few weeks in avoidance of GG reruns and I gotta tell ya, IZY LOVES HAN SOLO!) You know me, you know I wish I was Lorelai **

**thank you to my minions and crack whores who want me to write for the show… any one want to help a sister out make that a reality? Okay step: win big on deal or no deal, step two, buy the rights of the show an characters from WB… step 3….DO OVER… **

**Or something like that… **

**A/N: I have to say it now... I... Am...So ... DAMN... PROUD OF THIS CHAPTER  
worth the wait? for QUALITY FAN FICTION? you tell me... R/R **

**ENJOY!  
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**Chapter 37:  
BLACK FRIDAY **

Lorelai quietly crept out of the bedroom before the sun came up, without making a sound as Luke had wished. She knew he was still sleeping soundly from his snoring, and went down to wake Rory who would be reluctant and whining, but would be malleable and let her mother take her where she would for their little shopping tradition.

On the drive to the mall in Hartford they chatted even though Rory had kept her eyes closed, "Mom, are we looking for anything special?"

"Well, we'll have to get your grandparents something for Christmas, and the less I spend on them the better. There's Sookie, and Lane, and …"

"What about Luke? What are you getting him?" Rory asked, her eyes still firmly closed.

Honestly, Lorelai hardly knew what to get him and given his attitude last night she didn't think shopping for him at this time would yield a present that wouldn't do justice to either of them as recipient and gift giver, or better yet, to their relationship. "I think I'm gonna wait on Luke…I just barely got ideas for his birthday…he is… sort of a mystery to me still," thinking again of his mood swings the last few days.

"Did something happen?" Rory hinted, eyes finally opening slightly. She had become better at spotting the tension between her favorite couple and was concerned the holiday apart made them fight.

"No, honey. Why would you say that?"

"Well, he seemed sad about Thanksgiving."

"Well, he wants to spend as much time with us as he can…I guess, I hurt him by not including him… to come along to the family dinner." _That must have been it_, Luke was feeling purposely excluded from their holiday.

"I'm sorry I told on you to Grandma about Luke."

"Well, it had to come out sooner or later, so in a way I should thank you…you took care of it for me," Lorelai was trying to put a positive spin on the hurtful words from Emily. Lorelai took the off the highway to the mall, "I don't know, maybe I should have just brought him along, you know, 'Hey Mom this is Luke, Accept him'."

Rory giggled, "Yeah, because that would have gone over so much better." Rory started to look for parking spaces in the lot as her mother's extra pair of eyes. "Maybe we should go to the diner for dinner tonight."

"I think that is an excellent idea," Lorelai warmly agreed wanting to make new holiday plans with her male roommate and boyfriend.

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After their day of Black Friday shopping they kept with their early morning plan to go to Luke's for dinner, but didn't find the proprietor in the best of spirits.

"So how was it?" he said dully.

"I saved a bazillion percent off, and now have 85 percent of our Christmas shopping done!" Lorelai exclaimed over their triumphant outing. Mother and daughter sat at the counter, both wanting to spend the most time with Luke they could after their long day apart.

"You know, Thomas Jefferson said don't buy something just because it's cheap," Luke scolded, knowing that their shopping habit is why he hardly had room at Lorelai's place for his stuff despite her assurances that there was plenty of room before he moved in.

"Well Thomas Jefferson never saw a Kate Spade Purse for 75 percent off."

When Luke brought their dinners, he exclaimed, "Jeez!" after seeing their jeep parked out front, packed to the hilt, "Did you leave anything at the mall?" he snapped.

Lorelai grinned, "Well, there was a lovely green cocktail dress, but I didn't know your size." Rory snickered at the absurdity of Luke in a dress, to which Luke merely grumbled something under his breath as he went to bus a few tables.

Rory leaned over to her mother, "Mom, is he okay?"

"I don't know… he seems awfully, well, moody lately."

Rory sat and thought about what she could do to help cheer Luke up. Coming up with an idea, she turned around on her seat, dropped off her stool, and went to the table Luke was at, "Luke, can I help you bus the tables?"

Luke sent a gentle glare toward her, "No thank you, I got it," he said evenly.

"I bet if I help it will go twice as fast," Rory tried to sing song to make him smile.

"Rory, I've got it," he repeated, as he took the bin of dishes back into the kitchen.

Rory bit her lip, as her mother did, and followed him to the kitchen door. "Well, what about the grill? Can I help you clean the grill? I've never cleaned the grill before. I know! I can do some of the dishes. I can load the dishwasher… Sookie taught me her loading system…it supposed to be space efficient and help bre…"

It was then Luke just snapped, "Rory! I've got it!" He then pointed to the other side of the counter with his thumb, "Will you sit down, be quiet, and stop following me around! It's annoying!"

It wasn't what he said, it was how he said it and to whom he said it. Both Lorelai and Rory were aghast and unmoving, Luke had never snapped at sweet Rory before. Rory's doe like eyes were doleful and saddened as she went back to her seat next to her mother and looked down at her plate, keeping quiet, as Luke had requested.

"Luke!" Lorelai reproached in disbelief reaching for her daughter's hand.

Luke looked just as stunned and obviously regretted saying it and apologized to Rory immediately, begging that she'd understand he had a long day and he didn't mean it. Rory merely nodded in understanding, but her mouth twisted on her face, keeping her hurt inside, and she didn't laugh again at any of her mother's jokes or say another word the rest of her meal.

Luke ducked into the kitchen for a few minutes to escape Lorelai's gaped mouth and her astonished glare, but he could feel the daggers coming out of her eyes as her gaze followed him around the diner when he was gathering up the condiments from the tables, constantly trained on his back.

The rest of their meal Lorelai spoke little to Luke, focusing on squeezing Rory's hand and trying to perk up her daughter; Luke seemed to keep busy in the kitchen or storage room, no doubt to avoid putting his foot in his mouth again.

When they were ready to go home, Rory braved Luke's temper again by once again breaking the long established rule of going behind the counter. Lorelai watched closely as Luke seemed terrified that he would hurt Rory again as she approached him.

Rory took a deep breath and said, "I've had… bad days too," and she hugged him around his waist, as if to say she wasn't bothered by his snapping at her and that he was already forgiven. Luke knelt down to return the hug around her small frame and whispered another apology to her shoulder, his head hung in shame. Lorelai saw some sort of struggle on Luke's face and knew he was punishing himself for barking like that at Rory.

That having been settled to Rory's satisfaction, she gave him another small smile and she went to wait in the Jeep for her mother, keeping their purchases company.

As the bells above the diner door faded into silence again, Luke commended, "You've got …an amazing kid there," still not able to meet Lorelai's eyes, as he wiped down the counter.

Lorelai said with civility, "Yes, she is." She tried to guess at what caused his sudden moods, Taylor was always a possible culprit, but nonetheless she took the opportunity to approached Luke about their December plans, bad mood or not. If Luke wanted to be included and truly be a part of the family, so be it, all the rights, privileges, and annoyances therein of being Gilmored would be his. Maybe talking about their holiday plans would cheer up Luke's bad day. "Luke, I want to talk to you about Christmas."

"Yeah, what about it?" he gently sighed, not in the mood for holiday cheer that was still four weeks away, still angry at himself that he had lashed out at Rory.

"Well, last night at dinner… well, you were sort of, you know, mentioned…"

"Mentioned?" Luke repeated raising his head for the first time in 10 minutes.

"Well, Rory brought up a Luke anecdote… well, about your birthday gift to her…and well, as a result…I told my parents about us … and well they may invite you to come… to their Christmas party… to meet you…" It wasn't so much a lie, as it was a polite glossing over what Emily had really said, but Lorelai hoped she lent it an air of truth, to lift his mood, since he wanted to be included so badly before.

"May invite?" Luke questioned coolly.

"Well, I haven't gotten the date and time yet…I mean their party is usually like… two weeks before Christmas, but now that my mother knows about us… I wanted to prepare you…"

"Well, what if I don't feel like going?" Luke snapped, knowing that he had made his own decisions since he could crawl. Knowing the description Lorelai and Mia had given of the Elder Gilmores; that they were snobs, judgmental, and would have nothing to say to Luke but insult his blue collar up bringing.

"Well, I never feel like going and I have to go… come on… it would be just for a few hours… and we'll get that awkward first meeting out of the way…maybe we can sneak away and make out in my old room? Or in the basement… or something, although it would be like making out in a museum…" Lorelai mused as an aside. "…but it would give me some happy memories of the place."

"I don't want to go," Luke said flatly.

Lorelai almost snapped at him about how desperately he wanted to spend Thanksgiving with them and now he was trying to cut out of Christmas, it didn't make sense to her. "Luke, I'm just trying to keep the peace…and Emily will be satisfied at meeting you and won't bother us again until Easter…"

"Satisfied?" Luke deadpanned slowly, his expressionless face fixed on Lorelai, knowing he wouldn't even come close on the Gilmore Standards Stick from what he heard the last few months.

Seeing Luke wasn't about to budge this time, she smiled warmly to work her magic, "Come on… you won't find your Christmas spirit by then?" with faith that her world famous persistence would pay off yet again by flirting.

Luke's belligerence had returned, "What? I'm so supposed to spread good will toward man, dress up in a stupid red suit and hand out presents just because the greeting card companies have commercialized every month of the year?" Luke ranted on, "Forcing us to buy things we don't need and have festivals about nonsense… Every one's supposed to go on a date on February 14th? Everyone has to get drunk on St. Patrick's Day, even if you aren't Irish? Hey, it's the spring solstice; let's give our kids complexes about sex and fertility by feeding them chocolate eggs and bunnies, thank you, Pagans! Hey, join the fun and plant a tree on Arbor Day! Hey Luke, why aren't you dressed up like a Power Ranger, its Halloween after all? It's stupid and ridiculous and I'm not going to a stupid Christmas Party that's two weeks early, when I haven't even been invited or wanted for that matter. I'm not going and that's final!"

Lorelai barely maintained her composure, seeing this was going to be harder than she expected, "Listen, Scrooge… this wasn't my idea… Rory accidentally mentioned you and…"

"Oh, now she _accidentally _mentioned me," Luke said slowly, "So you were caught by Emily Gilmore is that it? Because I'm some big dark secret to keep away from your parents!"

"Luke, it's not that… it's just they … well they may not…accept you… at first," she desperate to salvage her nice spin on the situation, but broke down and decided to be honest, "They will judge you, belittle you, and make you …uncomfortable… I'm their daughter and they do that to me. Imagine what they do when they meet strangers…"

"Well, maybe you should invite Christopher…I bet they are mad in love with him, he's who you are supposed to be with any way… your parents will treat him like a king!"

_Where the hell did that come from? _"Luke, do you know how absurd that sounds… I'm only trying to protect you…"

"By pushing me away," Luke raised his voice again.

Lorelai was matching his yell, "Oh right, that's why I asked you to move in with me, because I want such distance between us!"

"Well, you've made it perfectly clear that I don't have a future with you or Rory…"

_Not this again! _Lorelai internally scoffed.

"…It's the same old no boys allowed exclusive club between the two of you," he finished.

_Umm right because I'm the one cooking with her every night, _"Right now, Luke you are the one that's pushing…" and in a huff Lorelai grabbed her purse and left Luke alone in the diner, slamming the glass door punctuated with the hard jingle of the bells. With the sound of the bells ringing in his ears, Luke knew he really stepped into it this time.

Disbelief that what just occurred had been real washed over Luke; what did he say, what had he done? He couldn't believe the things he that flew out of his mouth, how angry he got, the absurd conjectures he made, but he couldn't' stop himself. Luke slid to the ground behind the counter, across from the spot Lorelai made him save when they repainted the diner, where his dad's handwriting remained as a memorial to the man Luke missed so much, the man whose advice he could use right now… and Luke wished he could take everything he had said that evening back.

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Lorelai was lying awake, alone in their bed, nervously twirling her hair, replaying the scene from the diner over and over in her mind. She hoped rather than believed that Luke would come home to spend the night; this was where he lived now after all, despite the words said in the diner, it wasn't so wholly unexpected for Luke to crawl in to bed with her, and apologize for being a complete ass. She had only figured out that Luke wasn't coming over that night around 11:30, when she finished getting ready for bed, the fresh sent of raspberries on her again, and Luke still hadn't showed his face. Lorelai couldn't help but wait up for him, she wanted to talk to him and resolve everything, she knew she couldn't sleep with the things left hanging the way they were, _you shouldn't let the sun go down on your anger Marmee says_.

Lorelai looked to her right, at what had become Luke's side of the bed realizing this was their first night apart since moving in together just under a month ago. She just didn't understand, _why would he push away everyone that he says means everything to him…Why_?

Lorelai couldn't explain what had happened Luke was so combative, so rude, and so spiteful. It was more hostile than his usual rants, which were merely entertaining. _I was trying to make our Christmas plans, trying to include him, for coffee's sake, trying to introduce him to my parents._ If they could get through that one three-hour dinner, they would be free of the elder Gilmore's till next year and the Stars Hollow clan could celebrate Christmas anyway they wanted.

If anything, she thought Luke would have been proud or honored by this step forward, a sign of growing up, a sign of maturity; Lorelai was making a serious commitment to him, willing to go through the whole "meeting the parents" ordeal all for him. She was growing and hoped to find some steady footing with her parents by being honest with the elder Gilmores for once, maybe work toward having a real relationship with them. Maybe by being honest with her folks for a change, they would respect her… _Yeah right, and Luke drinks coffee!_

Lorelai had told her mother about Luke and Emily didn't need red-hot pokers to pry it out of her; _that my friend is progress! _Lorelai found mirthless irony that she had gone through all he trouble of telling her mother about Luke practically straight out and by morning there may not be a relationship for her parents to be upset about. _No, no, no we are not breaking up!_ Lorelai told herself firmly, _not after everything we've been through together. _

Lorelai didn't have a chance to really tell get into detail with Emily about Luke or his diner, the wonderful relationship Luke had with Rory and their cooking lessons, the handy work he did around the house, how he was there to help with the chicken pox, or all the things he had done since entering their lives. Deeds that may win his case in the Gilmore court, looking back on it now, Lorelai just sort of dropped the bomb and ran.

_…Because Rory loves him… and I love him, too._ Lorelai scoffed again, she couldn't believe she said it to her mother's face. Okay, so what if Emily knew of Luke. Lorelai knew that had to happen since Luke's birthday and now it was out there for her parents to debate; that a man named Luke was dating Lorelai, their one and only daughter, but that was still progress.

Granted there was still a lot Lorelai probably wouldn't be able to tell her parents, like how she and Luke had slept together on their second date; then they took to abstaining for about 2 months for Rory. How once Rory was comfortable with Luke sleeping over, he slept over every night for the better part of 4 months. She certainly could not tell them that Luke and Lorelai were now living together, the happy unwed couple with Rory in tow. She definitely was not able to tell her mother that over their months together those nights together had been increasingly filled with amazing sex;_ Emily doesn't need to know all that._

Even so, all that progress with her mother had been foiled by Luke's bad mood; apparently he was losing his mind,_ the man could only handle living with us for three weeks and we pushed him over the edge? Even if he is upset about something that is no reason to take it out on me…or RORY! We didn't do anything wrong. If I wanted a tempestuous relationship, I'd date my mother! Ewwww, now I need a new brain! _

She looked over at his side again still wishing, willing him to appear next to her so they could work everything out. For a second night in a row, she fell into a restless, lonely sleep, hoping that things would be better tomorrow; after all it would be another day. Lorelai turned her back to his side of the bed, _Frankly Scarlet, right now, I don't give a damn._

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**A/N: OH MY GOD! It soooooooooooooo killed me to have to write Luke yelling at Rory… **

**Localizy's thoughts on the subject: I hate shopping on Black Friday, I don't blame Luke at all for his materialism issues.**

**A/N: Purple Ribbon! I'm starting this up again, so I don't blow my pretty little brains out.  
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"That was all God given talent..." why thank you NON POD Luke!  
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**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund... **


	38. Come Home

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. **

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: AW If you DON'T KNOW BY NOW! HURUMPH! **

**LUVZ: I miss you! **

**FEATURED BETA: Localizy, _WONDER TWIN POWERS ACTIVATE_**

**A/N: Dialouge borrowed from 5.10 BUT NOT AS CUTE AS PUSHKIN/ Written by Amy Sherman-Palladino / Directed by Michael Zinberg**

**A/N: I have to say it now... I... Am...So ... DAMN... PROUD OF THIS CHAPTER  
worth the wait? for QUALITY FAN FICTION? you tell me... R/R**

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**Chapter 38:  
Come Home**

Saturday morning was cold in Lorelai's bed since Luke wasn't there to provide the extra body heat for Lorelai. As her shivering woke her up, she missed Luke's arms around her, how they were better than an electric blanket, and then she tried to recall if she and Rory had seen any electric blankets on sale yesterday,_ maybe I should invest in one_. Lorelai almost missed the disturbance to her sleep when Luke would wake up to head off to the diner, kissing her before he left, even if she wasn't fully awake. Lorelai had the day off so she could stay in bed hugging the Luke scented pillow until Rory came to see what was keeping her mother in bed.

"Mom?"

"Hey, honey," Lorelai was not making any effort to hide her depression, but hoped Rory thought she was just tired.

"Are you not feeling well?"

"Not really," Lorelai said honestly. "I over did it with the shopping, I think."

"You need coffee," Rory said knowingly. Rory started to pull on her mother's arm, "Let's go to Luke's for breakfast."

Lorelai sighed at the suggestion. Rory didn't know anything about the fight in the night before or the words that were said. Last night, when Lorelai came out to the jeep, Rory was drowsy and almost asleep on the passenger side, curled up among the bags, no doubt tired from their shoppers sprint, and probably hadn't paid attention the fight in the diner.

Rory may not have even noticed that Luke didn't spend the night, since he was such an early riser. Sometimes Rory didn't see him on the mornings he had a delivery from his produce or bread guys. She had woken up in the Jeep just when they arrived home, Lorelai told Rory Luke had to close and since there was no more room in the jeep that is why he didn't come home with them. Before they headed into the house, Lorelai asked if she was okay from what happened at the diner.

Rory only observed, "He's been very … mercurial the last few days."

"Someone learned a new word," apparently Lorelai wasn't the only one to notice the mood swings.

Back in bed, Lorelai finally decided to stop resisting her daughter's playful tugs to get her out of bed, "Fine, I'm up. I'm up." Lorelai thought she would be able to smooth things over pancakes and flirting, bacon and banter, but she was less than optimistic as she slowly got out of bed to make herself presentable to the world and her boyfriend.

"Come on Mom! I want to make sure today is a good day for him," Rory smiled, ever so thoughtful and considerate, Luke's offense to her last night already forgiven and forgotten.

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When Rory and Lorelai made it to the square, Rory finally seemed to notice how her mother kept looking at the ground, nearly walking into on coming traffic whenever they came to an intersection. Lorelai's spirits didn't improve when they did arrive at the diner; it rather plummeted when they found that it was closed.

_CLOSED!_

Lorelai must have stood there for a full minute, just staring at the flip sign Luke used on the door; the meaning of the bright, bold, orange letters of the single word was not sinking into her brain for some reason.

_CLOSED!_

Lorelai seemed to be looking around for other complaining patrons but everyone in town had another destination, they didn't seem to notice or care or just seemed unable to see Luke's Diner at all as the passed it by, as if it had turned invisible. _What am I, Alec Baldwin in The Shadow, and I'm the only one who can see the grand hotel before me? _

CLOSED!

_Where could he be?_

"Mom? Did Luke say anything about being closed today?"

Slowly Lorelai looked down at her angel girl who wore an expression of deep concern with her wide innocent eyes, clueless to yet another tumultuous fight between Luke and Lorelai.

"Not to me," Lorelai answered honestly, as she examined the dark diner through the windows. Struck by a thought, she looked up toward his apartment, wondering if he was hiding from her, closed so he wouldn't have to face her and the things that were said the night before. _That doesn't seem like him… he always needs to cool off… but he doesn't hide out…_

"Me neither. Maybe…" Rory started to speculate, "He had a meeting at the bank and forgot to tell us?"

"Maybe," Lorelai agreed, but doubted it.

"Well, we can go to Weston's for your coffee; I know it's not as good as Luke's but…"

"Let's go, baby," Lorelai said quickly, and without another word, they went back across the square to Weston's. _See if I care that you're not there… Jeez, I'm rhyming._

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During their midmorning outing, there wasn't a sign or mention of Luke anywhere or by anyone in town. At home, Rory kept looking out her window or checking the phone still had a dial tone, waiting for him to show since the diner was closed. By 3 pm, and after several attempts to call the numbers of his old apartment and the diner, Rory couldn't stand the suspense anymore, her gut instinct compelled her to beg her mother, "Please Mom, I wanna go look for Luke… I just wanna check up on him."

Lorelai had been silently struggling all day, as well. Pretending to be sprucing, or cleaning, or organizing, but she kept tripping over the boxes Luke had yet to unpack or his new additions to the home, _our home_. Lorelai tossed the magazine she had been pretending to read on the coffee table and quickly agreed, "Okay."

First, they went to Sniffy's, since Rory had logically deduced it was the furthest out geographically, and then they could efficiently work their way back to Stars Hollow. Unfortunately, Buddy and Maisy had taken the day off and none of the young managers in their stead knew where Luke was. Then, the girls went to the lake knowing that Luke liked to fish, granted it was a little colder then when he normally went, but worth the chance, however they still couldn't find him. Luke was such a creature of habit, it was hard to predict where he would go if he disregarded his schedule. Word seemed to spread about their search and when their Jeep went past the diner to head to the Inn, Miss Patty tore herself away from her in session class, and gracefully lumbered away from her studio, to flag them down with one of her scarves, and Rory unzipped her window hoping for new information or an update from the woman on the pulse of everything in town. Patty leaned in to talk to both Gilmores, "I'm glad I caught you girls. I understand you are looking for Luke."

Rory pounced to her open passenger window, "Have you seen him?"

"No, sweetie, I'm sorry…I just wanted to tell you that you won't find him today."

"Why?" Lorelai said shortly, wondering what bit of gossip Miss Patty had gotten to first this time.

"Well, you haven't known Luke as long as I have. Honey, today is the 30th," Patty expressed as if that explained it all.

"So?" Lorelai said just as pointedly, annoyed at Luke's Houdini impression and their fruitless searching.

"So," Miss Patty elongated as well, "the 30th is the 'dark day'."

"What dark day?" Rory asked her forehead furrowing to understand.

"Luke's 'dark day'," Patty explained. "It's the day that he disappears."

"Disappears? Where?" Lorelai hoped she could get down to it and find him already.

"Nobody knows. No one knows where he goes or what he does. It's been a mystery for years, all we do know is _not _to try and find him," Miss Patty stressed.

"Why didn't I know about this?" Lorelai fumed.

"Well, as I said, you and Luke only became… well close… this year… I meant to warn you… but well, there was Thanksgiving and you were out of town all day yesterday …and then again today…"

"We've been looking for him," Rory told her.

"I know, sweetie, and that is very, very kind of you, but on this day Luke doesn't want to be found…"

Lorelai asked this wealth of information and questioned, "He he always comes back right?"

"Like clock work… he opens the diner the very next day… we don't ask where he went, he doesn't say… and he seems fine with that arrangement." Miss Patty turned her attention to young Rory again, "Now, don't you worry," and she patted Rory's hand in the window. "Luke will be back, and everything will be back to normal."

Lorelai and Rory wore matching frowns trying to make heads or tails of the mystery. Lorelai was curious if this dark day was what affected his mood the last few days. Mother and daughter went to the inn to see if he was working on a handy man project for Mia or if Mia had any hidden information on the dark day.

"Rory, why don't you ask Sookie to make us some dinner, I want to talk to Mia."

"Okay," Rory said glumly and shuffled off to the kitchen. Food made her think of Luke and the kitchen made her think of their cooking lessons.

Lorelai knocked on Mia's office door, which was already opened.

Mia looked up from her desk and smiled, "Why Lorelai… you aren't working today."

"Oh, I know…I just… wanted to ask you something."

"Well, go right ahead," Mia smiled warmly, gesturing to the chair for Lorelai to sit.

Lorelai settled in the chair across from her boss, "What do you know about, well, the dark day?"

"Dark day?" Mia repeated, finding the phrase funny and trying to recall any colorful history of Stars Hollow that would suit that phrase.

"Yeah, Luke's dark day?" Lorelai saw a flash of sudden understanding cross Mia's face, and Lorelai continued to plea for information. "Apparently, Luke disappears every year… on this day… it's some old town folk lore. Please, Mia, I have to find him…we had a fight… and… well, I don't want things to end like that… I mean it was a stupid fight anyway…I can't even remember why we got so mad… if you know anything…"

"Lorelai, that's common…at this time of year…"

"What?"

"For Luke to be a little moody and to disappear on this day," Mia leaned back in her chair to retell the long story. "About this time of year, Luke… well, he's different... his temper is a little shorter, a little more curt than his friends would like, and today he won't answer his phone, or open the diner… he just drops out of sight for today…and only today…"

"Why?" Lorelai was desperate for the reason.

Mia gently revealed, "Today… is the anniversary of his father's death."

"Oh Mia." Suddenly compassion and understanding overwhelmed Lorelai and she knew more then ever she had to find him, she couldn't let him be alone.

"They were very close, William and Lucas. Luke did whatever he could to keep up the business with his father, but William … fell ill, and the store was failing anyway," Mia seemed to smile at thinking of her old friend yet sad at the same time. "William was sick for a long time… but well, Luke was always optimistic, hard to believe now I'm sure, perhaps it was just denial. And when William finally passed, well you can imagine…that is how Luke got his charming disposition, became such a skeptic and withdrew from the town like he did. His parents were gone, his sister left town… any other family he has, cousins and such, far away. Luke felt all alone, and became critical of everything, took no enjoyment out of life, he had no one to share things with," then Mia had to smile again, "till he met you."

Lorelai met Mia's wise gaze, a look that showed Lorelai that she was Luke's savior in a way.

"Lorelai all will be right in the morning…I know you love Luke, but this is something he feels he needs to do; he feels he's protecting you from having to put up with him while he is in this …foul mood. You will find him… when he's ready to come back."

Lorelai was on the verge of tears, hating that Luke felt he should suffer alone, feeling absolutely powerless, wanting to do something, anything to help him. Suddenly Rory burst into the room, "MOM! I've got it! What if it's something to do with his dad?"

"What?" Lorelai held out her hand, inviting her daughter into the office to share her revelation.

"His dad! I was eating my dinner, thinking about Luke, and it makes sense! What if the day he lost his dad is today? You know how sensitive Luke can be when it comes to _him_." Rory gasped, "The graveyard! What if Luke is at the graveyard… does anyone know where his dad is buried?"

"You are a clever one aren't you," Mia praised Rory, and she told them the location of the Danes family plot in Stars Hollow Cemetery.

"Thanks Mia. Come on, Mom, let's go. He shouldn't be alone, not today," and Rory was already half way to the Jeep.

Lorelai smiled thanks to Mia and hurried to the car with Rory.

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Lorelai was happy to oblige Rory when she asked if they could stop by Doose's and get flowers. By the time they got the Stars Hollow Cemetery, the sun had set, making the graveyard gates look foreboding and creepy. Lorelai saw the fear in her daughter's eyes, as she held the bouquet, "Rory, you can stay here if you want… "

Rory steeled herself, with a determined look in her eye, and turned to her mother, "No, we'll go together… I want to find him as much as you do."

Lorelai looked at the dark sky and thought back to Halloween with Luke, "I wish we had a flash light."

"In your trunk," Rory said distantly, staring at the scary, shadowy gate.

"What?"

"The last time Luke topped off your fluids he assembled a roadside emergency kit for your car, you know, for the winter," Rory confessed.

Lorelai grinned at the thoughtfulness of Luke. Lorelai found the flashlight in the trunk and hand in hand, mother and daughter ventured into the creepy cemetery together.

They followed the paved path as Mia had instructed and, as they walked, found many historical headstones from the revolutionary era. They found grave markers with funny names on them, which eased the fear of being in the cemetery at night. They finally found the Danes family plot, reverently paid their respects to William and Katherine Danes and added their offering of flowers to the other bouquets there. Lorelai had guessed one was from Mia and the other was from Bud and Maisy, which is why they weren't at Sniffy's that day; they may have been mourning, too.

However, they still did not find Luke.

Lorelai and Rory had just about given up. When the Jeep rounded the square to head home, both Gilmores looked to the diner out of habit.

"What if he never left the diner?" Rory posed, now that it was dark, she saw a light in Luke's apartment.

Lorelai saw the same light and and drove around to the diner and parked in front, as she had the day before. She wasn't sure what state she would find Luke in as she unbuckled her seat belt. If he would be angry they now knew his dark secret and wouldn't leave him in peace till his dark day had past; if he would be crying, still mourning his father all these years later, not wanting Rory to see him in that weakened state. "Rory, please, wait here. I'll see if he's ready to come home."

"Mom, I want to help," Rory begged.

"Please, Rory. Just one at a time, we don't want to overwhelm him."

Rory pouted but obeyed and kept the flashlight close since she was still scared from the cemetery. She was happy she was only seven feet from the diner and her lost protector who was inside.

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Lorelai approached the diner, reached up to the top of the doorframe, since Luke had told her a while ago where the spare key was hidden. The jingle above the door was eerie in the dark, closed down diner. Lorelai took a deep breathe for courage and went to the staircase to find Luke in his apartment.

Before she could enter the doorframe at the rear of the diner, a groggy voice called in the darkness, "Whose there?"

"Luke?" Lorelai strained to see where he was located in the diner. Then she saw a slumped form behind the counter, leaning against the kitchen's doorframe. She rushed to him, kneeling beside him behind the counter, "Oh, Luke."

Around him she saw numerous empty beer bottles on the floor and she noticed from his current slouched position gave him a perspective to study his father's hand writing and that old order written so long ago. On the floor, he could have also been staring at the blue ball cap Lorelai had given him, off his head and tossed carelessly by his father's words.

His eyes were heavy and his speech slurred, "What are you… doing …here?"

"Looking for you, silly," Lorelai said kindly.

"You shouldn't be here," Luke looked absolutely devastated and defeated; his right elbow rested on his bent knee, and he hid his face from her with his right hand, his left still nursing a beverage.

"Why not? You need me," Lorelai whispered.

"Aw, I didn't want you to … see me… like this," Luke leaned his head back, his eyes clenched tight again; fighting the painful memories he was desperately trying to drown.

"Luke…Come home with me, let me take care of you."

"Nah… I'm good here…" Luke nodded solemnly. "It's the same every year," he informed her, "I get moody and upset easily… and I snap… at any little thing…stupid things…" he waved his hands around, aimlessly gesturing his point with his beer; still ashamed he snapped at Rory.

"Luke, have you been here all day?" Lorelai noticed that he was maybe three feet from where she left him the day before, curious if he sunk to this spot after their fight. She wondered if he had stayed here for 24 hours, how she couldn't have seen him when she and Rory stopped by that morning if he was hidden behind the counter, ashamed that she didn't think to try the key earlier; perhaps she would have found him a little more sober and receptive.

Luke replied fluidly, with a groggy gravel in his voice from the alcohol, "Well, I sat here… for awhile, after our fight…" He drew in a breath and let it out as if he was terribly bored, "and then… I went through a few of… my dad's things… you know… that I still had upstairs… the things I wouldn't… you know, let you touch during the move, 'cause well, I don't know… I didn't want to have to explain them to you while we were unpacking… and I knew I couldn't see you today… cause…well after last night… I may stick my foot in my mouth again… or … snap or say something to make Rory really cry… and well, I can't bear to lose the two of you…" he confessed looking at Lorelai with foggy eyes.

"So you removed yourself from us, your family; the ones who love you the most?" Lorelai countered.

"I have no family," Luke mumbled, letting his chin sink to his chest as he focused on his bottle.

"Well, I beg to differ. You have me and Rory."

Luke even though his speech was some what impaired, Luke made every effort to speak clearly, candidly, pointedly, so Lorelai would understand him once and for all. "I have no family. Everyone I love leaves, okay!" he said sternly. "My parent's died, my sister left town to be as far away from me as she possibly could and she gave birth to a nephew I hardly know!" Luke searched for more examples of his sad situation, "Rachel left me. Rory …" he hated to admit and wistfully confessed, "…is not my daughter… and you," Luke's glazed eyes focused on her again, "How long till you get bored with me and leave?" 

Lorelai slid her arm around his shoulders, "Luke, I'm not like everyone else. Do you hear yourself? Would I have asked you to move in, if I didn't care, if I didn't plan to hang around, if I didn't love you as dearly as I do?"

Luke was peeling off the beer bottle's label, not paying attention to what she was saying, "You should be with Christopher…" he mumbled bitterly. 

"What?"

"You two should be together for Rory. It's what's right, it's what you want, it's what your family wants… your mother… your father…I won't… I _don't_ measure up…"

"Luke, we want you. Who is Christopher to us? No one, you are …our guy, the man of the house. We came here cause we were worried about you."

"We?" asked a confused Luke. He had thought there was only Lorelai, but then in his blurry vision, sure enough he saw two Lorelais.

"Rory is waiting in the jeep, we've been looking for you all day," Lorelai took his right hand in hers. "Luke, come home."

That snapped Luke's head up, _home? I don't have a home… I have an apartment… barely an apartment, one room that I use as an apartment… my childhood house is long sold, I live alone… without anyone…_then Lorelai's voice cut through the self pity.

"You belong with us, Luke," Lorelai scooted closer to him on the floor. "I love you. I truly do. When I'm with you, I'm happy, I'm safe. I finally have someone who understands me, who gets me, who gets my kid. I mean, do you know how many people think Rory is weird when they first meet her? She likes school, she's smarter than anyone else her age, for a 12 year old she knows what's going on in the world, keeps up with news and you love her for it."

Lorelai played with his free hand as she continued, "And with all my baggage, with all my quirks, you love me. Even with all my baggage and obvious issues, you fell for me in a few months… and I'm sorry I took so long to wake up and have my own 'smacked up side the head' epiphany of what was right in front of me." She cupped his face in her hands to help him focus on her, hoping the warmth from her hands would let him know she was really there, "Come home, Luke, let us take care of you for a change."

Luke was a little behind in the conversation, "Home?"

"Yeah, let's go home," Lorelai repeated gently.

"Home," Luke nodded.

Lorelai helped him up, picked up his ball cap, looked out to the jeep toward Rory and waved that everything was going to be all right.

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Rory watched from the Jeep and was curious why her mother had crouched down behind the counter. Scenarios flew through her head of Luke injured on the floor, needing medical attention. Anxiously she waited for her mother to reappear, but the agonizing seconds and minutes ticked away without a trace either of them.

Finally, Lorelai did stand up again and had Luke with her. Lorelai waved an all clear with Luke's blue ball cap. It appeared Rory was right, that Luke needed help. It almost seemed like Lorelai was steadying him as he trudged out of the diner. Through the open window Rory heard Luke observe, "Its cold out here."

"Umm, yeah, sorry, about that," Lorelai wished she had remembered his jacket. She called to Rory, "Honey, get in the back seat, would you?"

Without hesitation Rory complied, and quickly climbed over the front seat barrier. Lorelai opened the door for Luke, and turned him around to take the now vacant front seat. He sat slowly, but came down hard with a grunt and Rory felt the jeep shake from side to side.

In Rory's opinion, Luke looked tired and lethargic as Lorelai buckled him in the seat. "Mom, is he okay?"

"Yeah sweetie, he'll be fine, we just have to take care of him tonight," and Lorelai lovingly stroked his cheek as he leaned his head back against the head rest, with what looked like a nauseated swallow that rippled down his Adam's apple. Lorelai put his ball cap in his lap and shut the door on her precious cargo.

Lorelai rounded to the drivers side, and as she buckled herself in, instructed Luke "Just keep your eyes closed, baby; we're going home warp speed."

They raced home, Luke gripping his door, braced for impact, with his eyes closed as suggested. As soon as they were in the driveway, Lorelai helped Luke out of the jeep and inside. Rory followed behind, she was desperate to be of some assistance, "Mom? What can I do?"

Lorelai called over her shoulder, "Could you pick up his hat and just lock up behind me, okay Hon." Luke leaned on her and she helped him take the porch steps one at a time.

Rory found the hat in the dark, locked up the Jeep, and then opened the front door of the house for her mother and Luke. She followed cautiously behind them as her mother instructed and locked the front door, "Mom, what's wrong with him?"

"He's just not feeling well, right now…" As they started to tackle the staircase to Lorelai's room, Rory noticed Luke's steps were particularly heavy, "Rory, get a glass of water, then go to the medicine cabinet and bring me the aspirin."

With another mission, Rory felt like she could be of some service to Luke. When Rory entered the upstairs bedroom with her items, Lorelai was tucking Luke in bed, removing his flannel and boots. Luke groaned with the mattress as Lorelai eased him down, and when he lay back, he appeared to be instantly asleep. Rory placed the desired items on the nightstand till her mother was ready for then and Rory tried not to stare at Luke. Rory still had Luke's ball cap in her hands, cautiously climbed on the bed for a closer look at Luke. "Are you sure he's okay?"

Lorelai struggled a bit with the childproof cap of the aspirin, but insisted, "He'll be fine, I promise."

Rory nodded as she considered her options. She put the ball cap with the flannel at the foot of the bed, then crawled over to Luke and leaned down to kiss his cheek. "Good night, Luke. Feel better," even though she was certain he didn't hear her.

Lorelai got a kiss from her daughter before she left the room. "Night, Honey," said Lorelai, hoping she sounded cheerful.

Rory paused her exist at her mother's door and looked back to her mother nursing Luke. She watched as Lorelai helped Luke sit up and gave him a dose of aspirin and a drink of the water. Luke mumbled thanks and he was soon asleep again. Rory had so many questions for her mother, but knew they would have to wait till morning, so she went downstairs to go try to get some sleep.

Lorelai quickly changed into her comfy pajamas and put Luke's shirt and hat on another chair. She pulled back the covers and settled in close to limp Luke, keeping watch over him as he slept off the beer as she rested her arm over Luke's chest. Lorelai quickly welcomed some restful sleep herself considering the emotional roller coaster her family has been on over the last few days. As she snuggled close to Luke, she heard him whisper, "Love you," before going back into his beer induced sleep. With a smile she responded in kind and fell asleep, glad she wouldn't have thoughts of electric blankets in the morning.

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A/N: Purple Ribbon!**

**Announcement:**

**Izy would like to say a few words about trust…**

_**What the heck happened to the reviews I used to read? Where's the spirit? Where's the guts, huh? "Ooh, we're afraid you're turning into ASP, we don't need this drama." **_

_**Well, I am here to tell ya'll that life isn't always oranges and sprinkles. ASP was right about one thing and only one thing, and this one thing is common knowledge to anyone that has had a relationship with another human being, COUPLES FIGHT! COUPLES FIGHT ABOUT STUPID STUFF! Real world example: my boyfriend and I fought over who was the better X-men, Magneto or Wolverine. I didn't speak to him for a full day because EVERYONE knows that Wolverine is cooler! Anyway I digress. Lay off the 'oh my God, you can't let them fight, it's too much like last season' reviews and ASP comparisons (unless they were done in jest). This is fanfic for a reason and if you read GG1979's disclaimer above you will see that she does NOTHING like ASP! SHE REJECTS THE VERY REALITY THAT SHE ESTABLISHED! The majority of season 6 didn't happen for us. **_

_**So in conclusion: have some faith in us people, we aren't going down a road that has caused so much damage, I mean have you read anything else either of us has done? Please continue to review, keeping in mind that she has a plan, I am here to keep her on plan, and both of us love non-pod Luke!**_

**Thank you Izy, my sister from another mother, ever my defender, the one I have a freakish mind meld with, I think she's cute, I think she's funny, I think I'll keep her…**

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"That was all God given talent..." why thank you NON POD Luke!  
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**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund... **


	39. A Family Matter

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer****: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. **

**R/R****: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q:**** AW If you DON'T KNOW BY NOW! HURUMPH! **

**LUVZ: I miss you! **

**FEATURED BETA: Localizy, _WONDER TWIN POWERS ACTIVATE! _I swear this girl and I are linked… we get the same ideas for the same fics at the same time… what the hell! **

**HELLO, MY LITTLE CRACK WHORES! (And other shout outs): **

**TO Anonymous Jenny, who left me a review on 2006-06-14: thank you for your compliments… your review of Make up for all this Wasted time arrived at just the right moment… I admit I was wallowing over the abysmal season again. I was in a funk, and your words really touched me (in the good way) and I instantly wanted to hug you. I hope you won't be a stranger, and enjoy my other fics and think them just as worthy of your time. WITS here being one of them… **

**Thank you and welcome to crack whore-dom, (one more disclaimer: to be a minion you have to do my bidding…) **

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**Chapter 39:  
A Family Matter**

A few hours later, Lorelai woke up to an annoying throbbing in her arm, and as she opened her eyes she saw her daughter, Rory, was the culprit poking at her. Rory was sitting on the other side of Luke, kneeling on the bed, peering down at the pair with interest, and once she realized she succeeded in waking up her mother, she whispered, "Morning."

"Morning," Lorelai returned, looking over Luke's chest at the clock, it was 11:30 in the morning, and Lorelai realized she was late for work. "Oh I have to go…" she cried, struggling to free herself from her nice warm covers.

"Oh, Mia called and she said you could have the day off…" and Rory shyly added, "because of Luke."

"I tell you, that woman is spoiling me." Lorelai rubbed the sleep from her eyes and put her head back on Luke's left shoulder.

"Mom?"

"Yes, baby?"

"Is he better now?"

Lorelai lifted her head from Luke's shoulder and examined his slumbering face. "He will be," she assured.

Rory seemed hesitant to ask, "Mom? Can I … well, can I join you?"

Lorelai smiled at her considerate daughter, "Of course."

Rory moved her knees to lift up the covers beneath her and crawled in with the pair. Rory moved Luke's limp arm away from his torso to let her into the hug her mother was giving him. Rory mirrored her mother's position, with her head on Luke's right shoulder and an arm around his waist, like when she had fallen asleep during _Stalag 17_ the first time she and Luke watched it together. She just wanted to be there with them, to be included in whatever was happening to her family.

"I can hear his heart," Rory smiled, with her ear so close to his chest.

"Good," Lorelai teased, "We haven't killed him yet," to lighten the heavy mood of last night.

"He snores," Rory discovered as she heard the rumble muffled in his chest.

"Only when he is on his back, but I have to sleep with that every night," Lorelai mocked complained as she rubbed Luke's chest.

Rory then adopted a whisper, "Mom?" Rory didn't want to wake up Luke by talking too loudly or have him overhear her new subject.

"Yes, Rory?" Lorelai also kept her voce low and quiet.

"Did Luke… get drunk?" Rory ventured in her hushed tone.

Lorelai was a little surprised that she figured it out. Since she became a single mother, Lorelai was careful not to over indulge around Rory, but since she always believed in being honest with her daughter Lorelai answered truthfully, "Yes, he was."

Since Rory was an avid reader, she knew the consequences of too much alcohol on a person's state of mind. However, this was her first encounter witnessing it. Like any new experience, Rory was curious and only wanted to understand it, "Well, why?"

Mother and daughter took to conversing across Luke's chest. "Well, sometimes when adults don't want to…" Lorelai was trying to word it delicately, "Luke was trying to forget… He missed his father so much…and well he wanted to … I guess distract himself from the pain of missing him."

"But if he misses his father… why would he want to forget about him?"

"Rory, sometimes we do silly things when we are hurting or in pain. Luke wasn't thinking clearly and instead of turning to us and relying on us for help… he thought he should handle this on his own, but we are his family… you and me… and we have to take care of him just like he would take care of us. That's what families do…"

Rory considered her mother's statement for a moment, "Well, we have family with Grandma and Grandpa… but… I _feel _closer to Luke than I do to them. Is that …weird?"

"No, not so weird," Lorelai tried to explain as best as she could, "Grandma and Grandpa are our family by blood. Luke is our family by heart. We were lucky enough to just sort of … find each other… we spend a lot of time together, enjoy the same things… we fit together, together the three of us make sense."

Rory started to play with the material of Luke's shirt. "Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"I love him," Rory said in a small voice.

It was the first time Lorelai heard Rory say what Lorelai had long ago figured out from her daughter's close, unbreakable bond with Luke. "I know… I love him, too."

In an even smaller voice, "Mom?"

"Yes Rory?"

Rory wanted an answer to the same question she asked Luke when she had chicken pox, Rory paused before she asked her mother the question. She wanted to ask, _"Do you think you'll get married?_"

In Rory's mind, she got the answer she wanted, Lorelai smiling at her daughter, seeing that it was now her dearest wish, _"Maybe, some day…"_ However, Rory hesitated; she could see the admiration and love in Lorelai's eyes whenever she looked at Luke, even now, as Lorelai studied him while he was sleeping. While Luke had been long ready to admit his feelings and plans, Rory still sensed Lorelai was undecided and cautious, despite all her talk of being a family already, after all who knew Lorelai better than Rory. _Let's see how well we get through Christmas with the Gilmores_, Rory decided in her head, and asked instead, "Do you think he would like some blueberry pancakes?"

Oblivious to what her daughter really wanted, Lorelai lifted her head off his shoulder again to check Luke's deep slumber, "Well, I'd say he is about 2 hours away from pancakes."

"Okay, wake me in an hour and a half," and Rory snuggled into Luke's shoulder and closed her eyes.

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When Luke woke up, he knew what yesterday had been commemorative of by the feeling of his head being in a vice. Luke didn't usually resort to drinking or getting drunk, but this year he thought he lost it all. . He knew he had fought with Lorelai the day before and he knew how his mood changed around people whenever the dark anniversary approached. How his temper was even shorter and he scolded himself again for almost making Rory cry. He had lost Lorelai, Rory, and his father all over again.

He knew how outcast and alone he felt during this time of year. Luke seemed to recall drinking so much that he even had a vision, a guardian angel that looked so much like Lorelai. Luke knew he had to give Lorelai and Rory up, he couldn't subject them to his moods every year, moving in together was a mistake, he saw that now. They were just pretending to be a family, living together, shacking up, playing house. Luke had no claim on them. Luke even practiced a speech with the look a like Lorelai angel, finding a way to tell the real Lorelai she should be with Christopher and make everyone happy. It couldn't have been very good; he was half-drunk as he said it.

For all the pain in his head, Luke then realized he couldn't feel his arms. He began to wonder if he had injured himself in his inebriated state from last night. He remembered drinking in the diner, seeing the vision of Lorelai, but what happened after that? Luke opened his eyes and didn't see the diner's ceiling; it was Lorelai's, or rather his since he had moved in with Lorelai and Rory.

Luke looked around to see he was in the large double bed and found Lorelai and Rory with him under the covers; Rory was on his right, and Lorelai was on his left, a head on each shoulder. It was then he realized his arms hadn't been amputated in a drunken accident; they had fallen asleep under the weight of his girls.

_Huh, My girls?_ It was so easy to think of them that way.

Lorelai felt Luke's arm squirming beneath her, working on the blood flow so she sat up, not realizing the numbness she had caused in his limbs yet easing the pressure as she asked, "Hey? Are you okay?" she said sweetly, stroking his cheek.

"Um, yeah… I think I over did it a little?"

"Just a bit," Lorelai grinned, as she wrinkled her nose at the understatement, and Luke remembered exactly why he loved waking up with her.

Rory now stirred hearing the close voices. "Luke!" she perked up, "How are you feeling?"

"Umm, fine… more or less," he grimaced at the afternoon light through the windows, not sure what to say to Rory about his over indulgence.

"Do you want pancakes?"

"Rory, keep it down, I'm sure Luke has a bit of a headache," Lorelai explained.

Not familiar with the etiquette of a hangover, Rory whispered to Luke, "I'm going to make blueberry pancakes, it'll make you feel better," she plopped on Luke's chest to give him a hug, kissed his cheek and just as quickly, she sprang off the mattress and flew downstairs to make the miracle pancakes, just what the doctor ordered.

Now that they were alone, Lorelai broached, "So… yesterday."

Luke looked up at her while still flat on his back, "Yeah?"

"Yesterday and the day before, all that was about your father."

"Well," Luke now figured he had been talking to the real Lorelai last night in the diner. That he should soberly defend his perspective; that they could still be just friends, if Lorelai wanted to end it for all the stupid things he said.

"Now you know what a fan I am of traditions. I could be the Tevye I love them so much and if I knew how to play the fiddle." Lorelai leaned to stress her point, "However, if you ever take off like that on me again… or make me worried sick like I was all yesterday, you are so gonna get it, Mister!"

"Lorelai… about Christmas."

"Don't worry about it…" she put her head on his shoulder again,."I'll buy my parents a gift and sign both our names…."

"No, Lorelai…"

"Luke… it's weeks away… and my father will have some business acquaintance we know nothing about and in all likelyhood will never see again, so don't worry about retaining the name…"

"Lorelai…"

Lorelai put her hand to his mouth. "Luke," she countered, "I've had bad days too," using Rory's words. "You said some things you didn't mean the last few days…so I'm going pretend I didn't hear any of it. I know you love me and Rory…and would never ever do anything to hurt us… like deprive us of your food…and coffee…because without you …we'd surely die…"

It was clear Lorelai wasn't going to let him go. When she finally removed her hand from his mouth, after all that, the only thing he could say was, "I love you."

"Okay, I did hear that…" Lorelai smiled. "Rory's going to make you breakfast in bed… so stay put," and Lorelai went down to see if she could help Rory.

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Unfortunately, Rory and Lorelai realized that they had no real way to implement a breakfast in bed. So, Luke trudged down the stairs, and was happy to have a late, late breakfast with the girls in the kitchen. Since it was past noon and they all were still in their PJs, well, Luke was in his jeans still, but principle prevailed, so Lorelai declared it a pajama day where no one could shower till the next morning. Luke was not one to give up hygiene rituals, but obeyed the rules with the girls and put on his sweat pants instead.

They decided to just stay in and watch movies. Rory's first pick was _Stalag 17_, because that it was now December, a Christmas movie, and would make Luke feel better after his dark day. However, Lorelai argued they had just seen it, that it was too depressing to deal with Christmas at a prison camp given the day they had yesterday, but agreed they would add it to their Christmas movie list if Rory wanted. Rory briefly huffed that they had seen it a month ago, that Luke was on her side, and she wanted to watch it again today.

The debate was brought to a halt by a knock at the front door. Lorelai answered it and was surprised at the sight of a flustered Patty. "Hey Patty, what's up?"

"I'm so sorry, Honey, but well…" Patty hated to be the bearer of bad news. "We just don't know where Luke is?"

"What?"

Patty invited herself in, "It's the strangest thing. Usually he comes back like clock work on the 1st, without fail for years, but the diner has been closed and there has been no sign of Luke…" Patty turned the corner into the living room and stopped speaking when she saw Luke on the couch in his T-shirt and sweats, "…all day."

"Umm, yeah, well, we found him…and he decided to take the day off…because…" Lorelai didn't know if she should mention the dark anniversary or the beer bottles on the floor of the diner.

"I wasn't feeling well!" Rory offered.

"Oh no, sweetie?" Patty exclaimed, her concern for Luke shifting to Rory.

"Yeah, my stomach was _really_ upset," Rory stressed dramatically. "I may have over done it with Thanksgiving, our shopping trip, and well… yesterday… maybe I didn't get enough sleep, but Luke and Mom took the day off to stay home with me."

"Well, you feel better, honey," Patty sincerely wished. "At least we know you are in good hands," Patty assured, recalling the five start treatment Rory got during her chicken pox episode. "I better call off the search party or Kirk is likely to get lost in those woods."

Lorelai showed Patty to the door and as an aside, Patty asked, "Ah, honey, was that a tattoo on his arm?"

In recent months, Lorelai became uncomfortable talking about Luke with Patty. It could have been the hint of lust in the old dance teacher's eye whenever she looked at him that sent Lorelai into a unique fit of ridiculous jealousy. Patty assured Lorelai, "Aw honey, you are a _very_ lucky woman."

After showing Patty out and once Lorelai had recovered from Patty's admiration of Luke, she looked at her daughter and said, "Hey there, Pinocchio, how do you get your nose to look so small?"

"Make up!" Rory giggled.

"Why did you say you were sick?"

"It's a family matter," Rory said.

"What's a family matter?" Lorelai asked.

"Luke's dark day they don't need to know what happened, it hasn't hurt them so far," Rory settled back on the couch with Luke. With his arm draped over the back of the couch, Rory fit perfectly at his side, and was already using him as a pillow.

"What do you think you're doing?" Lorelai asked again.

"I'm settling in for the movie. Oh, what about Blackadder's Christmas Carol?"

"Luke is my pillow," Lorelai claimed, ignoring Rory's misdirection of Rowan Atkinson.

"No, he's mine! I call dibs! And I'm already here."

"Well, he's my boyfriend!" Lorelai argued.

"Exactly. You get him all the time, you have to share him."

Luke had to chuckle at the bizarre argument. Rory had hated the mere idea of her mother dating when Lorelai first told Rory about Luke and now, months later, he was living under the same roof with both Gilmores were fighting over him. Luke had to smile, usually after his "dark day", as the girls called it, life would go on as before. He would open the diner, not mentioning what the 30th was to anyone. Life had gone on as before this year too, only now he had Lorelai and Rory apart of the life. Lorelai convincing him to take the day off, all three were set to watch a movie and have fun together as a family, the girls eating a bunch of junk food that Luke didn't approve of; This had been his life before the dark day this year, and this seemed it would be his life from now on.

They finally settled in with _The Nightmare Before Christmas_, which Luke thought was weird, but still funny; trying not to wince as the girls sang off key.

Later that evening, Rory was wrapping some gifts from their Black Friday shopping, always eager for a head start, while Lorelai went back to the diner with Luke, both still unshowered but presentable, helped him clear all the beer bottles, and prep the diner to open for the next day. As Luke put all the rinsed out bottles into his recycling bin, he felt ashamed and embarrassed again, but Lorelai's warm smile brought him back. They were still together, he hadn't lost her or Rory, and with the chairs up on the tables and the lights off, they went back home together holding hands.

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"Wow… you and Luke are gonna spend Christmas together?" Sookie smiled as she stirred her version of Pumpkin soup after being inspired by the sample Rory brought of Luke's, "Pretty big step."

"Well, it's usually customary to spend the holidays with the man you are living with," Lorelai was very excited. "Well, Thanksgiving seemed … to go fairly well… SO … here we are…" Lorelai and Rory kept Luke's dark day secret from the town, but Sookie was trustworthy when it was stressed upon her the importance of the secret. Even so, Lorelai had never told Sookie about the false alarm pregnancy, but she did share the exchanged 'I love you's and Lorelai would be damned if she'd let Luke carry out that ridiculous dark day tradition every year, _he has us now, he doesn't have to be alone._

"I know…" Sookie agreed. "Major holidays are now involved ... I didn't know Luke celebrated holidays."

"Well, with the Gilmore girls in his life, he absolutely does," Lorelai stated proudly, ignoring the scowls from Rafael, now that Lorelai was Assistant Manager and not a mere maid, she was allowed in the kitchen.

"But this is getting serious…"

"Again Sookie, I'm living with him!"

"But…"

"Sookie… stop…"

"What?"

"We just got people to cool it with the wedding rumors and the whole Christopher scare turned out to be nothing. So please… we are just dating… living together, he likes me, he likes my kid, my kid likes him… we are … comfortable… status quo…just don't… let's not rock the boat." Lorelai was still reeling over her Thanksgiving confession to her mother and wasn't sure how the news would affect their Christmas plans since she hadn't heard anything from her mother since the shouting match in the study.

"What are you gonna get him…"

Back to the present and happier Christmas plans, Lorelai groaned dramatically. "I have no idea. Maybe another back up base ball hat…You know in case something happens to good old reliable blue," referring to the new blue hat she got him for his birthday, recalling it on the diner floor with the beer bottles on his dark day,_ huh, he usually wears that one now, like…everyday._ Lorelai smiled at the simple sign that he liked her gift.

"Well you've been dating like what? Eight -nine months… I think this calls for something a little more…"

"Well, I'm just starting… maybe tools… eh, I don't know… Home Depot intimidates me. I just… you know, want this to be the Best Christmas ever… with all that happened after Thanksgiving… and the whole anniversary of his father's death… I just want to make… everything special."

"You'll find something great."

Mia walked in, "Ah Lorelai, there you are."

"I'm sorry Mia, is my break over?" she checked the clock on the wall.

"No, no, my dear, I wanted to let you know your mother called."

"What?" Lorelai's stomach dropped.

"Your mother called…" Mia kindly repeated.

Lorelai seemed to sway on the spot, "I'm sorry? I think I just hallucinated. My mother called… _here_?"

"Yes, she scared the wits out of Sarah, poor thing slipped me this note because she couldn't find you," Mia offered Lorelai a piece of paper.

Lorelai read:

_Lorelai, _

_Your mother called and said you needed to talk. _

_Sarah _

"Huh, only took a week," Lorelai wondered if Emily had been frozen to the spot in the study for seven days since Thanksgiving.

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Like a child, Mia dragged Lorelai into her office, explaining it was only common courtesy to return the call immediately. "Lorelai, this is ridiculous, you know your mother is expecting you for Christmas, and if you get it out of the way now, you won't have to think of it till the party. You knew she was going to call eventually, she does every year…"

The only difference between this year and last year was Luke. Lorelai had told Emily about Luke at Thanksgiving, immediately offered up the fact that she was in love with him and how serious his attachment was to Rory and herself. Granted Lorelai saved the juicy "by the way, Mom we are living together, pass the gravy" for another day, but it still would be difficult and different then any other year.

Mia left Lorelai alone in the office to make the dreaded phone call and Lorelai couldn't help but relate to Rory trying to call Christopher last October. The first few minutes Lorelai stared at the phone, hoping she could just wait it out in the office without having to call. However, Mia always had the best advice and Lorelai knew she should just get it over with.

The first few times she dialed, she hung up after the first ring. About the sixth time a maid answered, and Lorelai hung up again, commending her own progress, and was relived that it hadn't been Emily_, my mother answer the phone herself, ha!_

Finally, Lorelai spoke to the maid, "Gilmore residence," the voice was very young and sounded impeded by something in the maid's mouth.

"Hello, umm, Emily Gilmore, please."

"Aw, I'm sorry Mrs. Gilmore has gone out, this is Desiree, I'm the maid," the young sounding girl giggled, "May I ask who is calling?"

"Oh well, this is her daughter, Lorelai…"

"Mrs. Gilmore has a daughter?" Desiree seemed surprised and Lorelai now recognized it was gum in the maid's mouth by the snapping and popping.

"Umm, yeah that's me… I'm the girl in all those pictures you dust?"

"Oh I'm sorry, it's just that…well she never mentioned you."

_Okay, that was a little pointed,_ "Well, I am sort of the black sheep of the family," Lorelai cleared her throat.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I offend you? I'm always saying things like that… my own mother says I have no tact… that I should think before I speak, and that my big mouth is gonna get me in trouble one day," the maid quoted verbatim.

_Sooner then you think, _Lorelai recalled her mother's habit of getting a new maid weekly at the slightest hint of incompetence. _A maid who says the wrong thing at the wrong time? Oh yeah… this one won't last long, _"Umm could you please take a message? And tell my mother that I returned her call, please, exactly like that?"

"Certainly, I'll write it down right now… umm Miss?"

"Uh…Gilmore?" Lorelai offered lamely.

"Oh right, right," Desiree popped her gum a few times. "Okay, got it! Have a good day!"

Lorelai chuckled at how her mother went though maids like Kleenex.

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The town seemed to notice their First Family was closer than ever since the end of November. Even so, many were surprised to find Luke in the square with the Gilmore girls picking out a Christmas tree at the high school's charity fundraiser. Rory was holding Luke's hand and Lorelai had her armed linked in his on the other side, as they walked through the rows of trees.

Luke didn't know if Lorelai was part dog or if she just really liked the scent of pine. "Why do you keep sniffing the air?"

"I'm looking for a Scooby snack."

"What?"

"Mom thinks she can smell snow," Rory said from beside Luke.

"What?" He turned back to Lorelai.

"I _can_ smell snow, the nose knows! There are two things that my nose can detect without fail, Coffee and Snow!"

"Lorelai its frozen water, falling from the atmosphere. How could you possibly smell it?"

"It's like dogs with high pitches," Rory said shaking a branch of a tree, then, seeing all the needles had fallen off with the jostling, she jumped back hoping the tree attendant hadn't seen her.

"RORY!" Lorelai cried, shocked at her daughter's words.

"What? I said pitches."

Lorelai relaxed and wondered when she could finally cuss again, _how old is old enough? 13? 14?_

"How about this one?" Luke suggested, finding the healthiest looking tree he could in their price range.

Lorelai smiled, it was not too tall or too wide, had a healthy plum of it's needles, which Luke argued would only make a mess on the floor, but Lorelai declared the tree "Perfect! Now bargain with the guy like in _A Christmas Story_."

Rory liked the plan, "Yeah, be as shrewd as an Arab trader!"

"I'm not going to do a bit from a movie," Luke vowed.

"Come on, Luke!" both girls pleaded, but he held his ground. Luke's truck came in handy when he simply paid the man to put the tree in his truck bed, rather then having to pay for it to be delivered.

Rory made all of them hot chocolate while Luke set up the tree in its stand in the living room. Luke observed, "I can't even remember the last time I had a Christmas tree."

Rory brought in the mugs for her mother and Luke and was going to go back to the kitchen for her own, but had to ask, "Was it when your dad was around?"

Luke thought back to the Christmas of 1988, the last Christmas his father saw, "Yeah, I guess so. I mean it was just me… so I really didn't see any need in, you know, decorating."

Luke was getting that sad distant look in his eye, the one he got when he thought of his dad and Rory had noticed it right away. "Come on, you can help me get the ornaments out of the garage, I don't want to get squished under all the boxes," she brought Luke back to the present by dragging his arm outside to the garage.

Lorelai had respected Luke's request, for once, not to over decorate the diner for Christmas, and they agreed on simple white lights in the windows, and that was it. However, at home, their home, she could pull out all of Rory's Christmas craft projects from her childhood and Lorelai had an eclectic mix of ornaments for the tree that Rory would help Luke dig out from the garage.

While Rory was showing Luke where the Christmas decorations were, Lorelai was alone in the living room, so when the phone rang and naturally, she answered it, "Hello and Merry Christmas!"

"Lorelai, this is your mother," Emily announced.

Lorelai's Christmas cheer was sucked right out of her as if the ghost of Christmas Past had appeared, "Oh, umm, hi Mom."

"It is customary when someone leaves a message at your work, that you call them back in a timely manner," Emily scolded.

_See I didn't even know you knew where I worked, so…_ "Umm, well, I did call back; I left a message with the maid…"

"Well, I didn't receive any messages," Emily said haughtily knowing she had the high ground.

"It was Desiree?" Lorelai hoped that the name was still fresh in her mother's head and would recall the maid in question, "She wrote it down… she told me she wrote the message down!" Lorelai adopted a tone of "_This is not my fault, I so called back!"_

"Aw Desiree," apparently Emily recalled the young maid, "Ditzy little thing, she would write my messages on her hand, then when she did the dishes they would wash away with the dishwater."

"Well, I'm sorry. It's so hard to get good help…" Lorelai rolled her eyes, "I trusted Desiree to deliver my message."

"Well that's why she was fired. Always popping that gum, disgusting habit… I hope you don't let Rory chew gum like that…"

_I so called it, what did I win?_ "Well, I got those four out of five dentists to show her how to chew it properly…"

"Anyway, the girl I spoke with at your… work… said she'd take a message…"

"Umm, okay?"

"…And give you a note. Did you get the note?"

_  
_"Well, I got your message …and the note… and I called you back…in a timely manner…" Lorelai said it because it was true.

"But I didn't get your message…"

"Well, that doesn't erase the fact that I did it…"

"Well, obviously if I didn't get your message how was I to know you got mine. I mean, if you knew I wanted to speak with you and you still didn't hear from me…"

"I'm speaking to you now does that count?"

"But you had a note to remind you of the fact that I wanted to speak to you," Emily pressed on.

_For the love of coffee! _"I lost the note, that's why is slipped my mind. Things got really hectic at work," Lorelai offered lamely.

"Really Lorelai, did you listen at all when I taught you about manners and etiquette?"

"But Mom," Lorelai scoffed and was getting really annoyed with the merry go round, "I returned your call, I left a message…I..." _can see I'm not gonna win this one… _"If I say 'not really', can we move on?"

"Very well, I wanted to call to see if you would be attending our Christmas Party this year."

Just as Lorelai had expected, "You mean the party we attend every year?" Lorelai shot back sarcastically.

"Well, I understand from Thanksgiving that there have been some changes and developments in your life. So I wasn't sure if I could count on you to show."

"Oh, well, umm, we'd love to come, thank you," Lorelai said politely, _I come for the apple tarts_.

"Very well," Emily said coolly, "I'm going over my seating arrangement now, how many will be coming with you?"

_Here we go…_ the question she waited since Thanksgiving to hear, "I beg your pardon?" If Lorelai was going to bring Luke, she wanted him to be invited and welcomed,_ Fat chance,_ but Lorelai knew her mother's curiosity would get the better of her and she would have to include Luke in the invitation.

"Well, I assume that if you_ love_," Emily's tone emphasized her doubts, "this… Luke person, then your father and I should meet him eventually," Emily sighed heavily. "We might as well get it over with during the season of peace on earth and goodwill towards man."

"Thank you, I'm sure Luke will be happy to join us, so three settings, I guess."

"Oh No!" Emily emphatically exclaimed for dramatic show.

"What?" Lorelai asked.

"I won't have a balanced table now… well, I suppose we will have to make do," Emily complained.

Lorelai picked up that her mother was going to be very difficult with the introduction to her beau. "Well, if it balances your table you can put me in Luke's lap?" Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"Lorelai…"

"I'll feed him too, it will be adorable."

"Really, Lorelai," Emily sighed, already tired of her daughter's humor after a single joke.

"Umm, Mom…"

"Yes, Lorelai?"

Lorelai knew what Luke's parents must have meant to him to mourn them so devoutly all these years, Lorelai couldn't help but have thoughts of her own parent's dark day, and well, Lorelai was sad that things seemed beyond repair with her own parents, but decided to reach out anyway. "Well, I may forget to do this, because, well, I know us," she said, thinking of how every visit ended with an argument, "and well, I just want to say thank you in advance."

"For what?"

"For including him. I know you will probably hate him, and think he isn't worth of your notice but… he's a good man, mom, he is really good to me and to Rory. So please, just please be as civil as you can, I mean, really civil; because I can assure you if you try to belittle or attack him in front of Rory or your friends, Rory will defend him till the end, and I will be right there be side her making a scene at your precious party."

"Very well," Emily said stiffly." I assume you will want to sit beside this man?"

"Well, if you sit us across from each other we could play footsy under the table…" Lorelai mused.

"Lorelai," it was Emily's turn to roll her eyes.

"Actually, you can sit Rory between us, to make sure we behave ourselves."

Sometimes Emily thought she must have gotten the wrong baby from the hospital; how else could Lorelai be so different from the rest of the family. "Very well, it's next Friday, the 13th."

"What?" the date caught Lorelai's attention.

"The Christmas party, its Friday the 13th."

"Oh well okay," Lorelai tried not to take that as a bad omen. "We'll see you next week… all three of us."

Emily hung up without so much as a goodbye.

Rory and Luke came in with another load of ornaments, Luke was laughing at something Rory had just said. "Umm, I really don't know what would happen…"

Rory seemed excited, "Can we try it?"

"Fine, the next time your mom buys Twizzlers," always finding Rory's curiosity endearing. As they put the boxes down, they noticed how still Lorelai was. "Lorelai?" Luke asked.

Lorelai looked over and forced a smile.

"Mom?" Rory had noticed the phone in her hand, "It wasn't…" Rory gulped, as she seemed to scoot closer and cling to Luke, "Christopher was it?"

"No, umm it was your grandmother, confirming our plans for the Christmas party."

Rory let out her the breath she had been holding, _whew, only apple tarts!_

Lorelai informed, "She's invited… all three of us."

"What?" that caught Luke's attention.

"Well, after hearing about you at Thanksgiving, my parents want to meet you."

After hearing so much about her folks, Luke was more than a little intimidated. He was curious what was actually said about him to instill such curiosity in Lorelai's parents. It could be to size him up, since he was the man with intentions towards their only daughter.

"It'll be okay," Rory assured the perplexed expression on Luke's face. "I was scared the first time I went there, too. I'll stay with you the whole time."

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As the Christmas dinner approached, Rory thought Luke should make something to bring as a gesture of good faith.

"Rory, I don't want to insult your grandmother by bringing my own food," Luke said, trying not to show his slight fear of her grandparents. Lorelai had told him many stories about Emily, how easily offended she was if things weren't her way, how she took the slightest unintentional thing personally, and would never let it go. Insulting them wasn't the impression he wanted to make when meeting Lorelai's parents.

"Luke, please! I like your apple raisin stuffing so much better. Plus, I got a brilliant idea! I was thinking we could use Red Delicious and Granny Smiths to get red and green right in the stuffing! And to add to the mix gold and purple raisins… please… just imagine the sweetness mixing with the thyme and rosemary…"

As usual, Luke couldn't seem to say no to her, "Alright." Secretly, he dreaded Emily's reaction to the gesture of good faith. "How many guests?"

Rory exaggerated, knowing she'd have seconds and thirds, "Umm no more than 15."

Luke decided, "Well, we'll make it at the diner since the oven is bigger."

Rory smiled again, she recalled both Luke's and her mother's versions of their second date and how Luke had made dinner for Lorelai. They both said the same thing;_ the way to Gilmore's heart is through their stomach._

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"That was all God given talent..." why thank you NON POD Luke!  
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Localizy would like to say a few words: Sorry it took so long everyone. It was my fault not GG1979. I am going on vacation and have spent the last few days getting ready and life has just been well you know. So enjoy this chapter and remember: Trust us! We have big BIG things planned! **

**A/N: The opening of this chapter concludes the DARK DAY SAGA as Localizy and I were calling it…  
A/N: Purple Ribbon! For season 7 ugh! **

Fav parts you may have missed:  
Patty: "I better call off the search party or Kirk is likely to get lost in those woods."  
-Luke didn't know if Lorelai was part dog or if she just really liked the scent of pine. (well her mother is a BITCH HA HA!)

**A/N: PURE COINCIDENCE I hear there are some ironic parallels to my sentiments about why adults get drunk…and Lorelai's behavior on the show… I haven't been watching… I don't know how close to the mark I am… so (shrug) there. **

**A/N: My sister and I have pajama days on the weekends, especially after a really tough week; usually we eat late, play PlayStation, and watch movies. It's fun! **

**A/N: apple raisin stuffing is my specialty at Thanksgiving/Christmas, and I really do use the mix of granny smith and red delicious apples for Christmas… see my life is totally infused into my art! **

**A/N: eclectic mix of ornaments inspired by my mother's … ummm…-unique tastes. **

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**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund... **


	40. Christmas With The Gilmores

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. **

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: AW If you DON'T KNOW BY NOW! HURUMPH! **

**LUVZ: I miss you! **

**FEATURED BETA: Localizy, _WONDER TWIN POWERS ACTIVATE_**

**A/N: I have to say it now... I... Am...So ... DAMN... PROUD OF THIS CHAPTER  
worth the wait? for QUALITY FAN FICTION? You tell me... R/R**

**A/N: Hey It's like Christmas in Jul… well er uh, June, Christmas in June!...**

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Chapter 40:  
Christmas with the Gilmores **

_Friday the Thirteenth… my lucky day,_ Lorelai morosely thought as she looked at her dress in the mirror trying to decide if her mother would find anything wrong with it as she didn't want another blow out over her clothing again. She wanted tonight to be perfect, and go smoothly for once, so her parents would have a good first impression of Luke. She didn't know how that could be possible, with Emily Gilmore controlling the evening, but still with booze, other guests, and business to distract them, maybe Luke would be fairly safe and unnoticed, Lorelai hoped, more than believed.

Then manly arms snaked around her waist, soft lips kissed her neck, and a deep voice whispered, "You look beautiful."

"Mmm, Mr. President, what would my boyfriend say," Lorelai teased in a girly, bimbo voice.

"Shut up, he's not your type."

"I don't want to go," Lorelai whined leaning her head back on Luke's shoulder, putting her hands on top of his at her waist.

"I just made a triple batch of apple raisin stuffing …we're going," he rubbed her stomach.

"You what?" Lorelai craned her neck to look at him over her shoulder.

"Yeah, I made some stuffing. Rory insisted, like a… pot luck or…gesture of good faith…"

Lorelai turned to face him, "But… Luke my mother will have the menu all planned out… serving dishes have been selected, the times between courses have been synchronized to the last bite."

"One side dish isn't going to throw a wrench in the works."

"Luke…"

"Lorelai, I promised Rory, she said she really doesn't like your mother's stuffing."

"It's her cook's stuffing, my mother just plans it… she doesn't actually lift a finger."

"Look, I have the trays already to go; it just needs to be reheated. I promised Rory."

Rory suddenly appeared at the bedroom doorway, "I'm ready… were you two making out again?" cocking her head to the side.

Lorelai saw how Luke still had his hands on her hips, "Umm no, Rory…we weren't."

"Why not? It's going to be three hours till you can do that again, get it out of your system." Rory looked at the clock, "You have 5 minutes… GO!" and Rory raced downstairs leaving them privacy for their tonsil hockey.

Lorelai chuckled, "She's right. Three hours till you can have this again," she enticed with a raise eyebrow.

"5 minutes isn't long enough," as he leaned in to take advantage of the private time.

"Hmmm, okay a few ground rules," Lorelai stopped him from kissing her.

"Okay?"

"Don't expect to be complimented or praised, because no matter what, my parents won't like you… sorry."

"Alright."

"Don't bother to remember the maid's name because my mother will have a new one in three days time…"

"Alright?"

Thinking of his hands, still on her hips again, "Oh, don't touch my ass in front of my father…"

"If you insist," he teased.

"Oh, and that hollow feeling at the end of the night will be just because Emily Gilmore has just sucked out your soul! But don't worry, you won't miss it."

Luke thought she was being a tad dramatic, "Anything else?"

"Please, baby," she put her hands on his cheeks. "Just be yourself."

"Can I kiss you now? We only have four minutes left…"

"So we'll be a little late," Lorelai shrugged.

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A half an hour later, Rory, Luke and Lorelai were at the front door of the Gilmore Manor. At first, Luke thought the party was at a museum or a castle or something, until Lorelai clarified that this was indeed where she grew up.

Lorelai was giving some final assurance to her boyfriend, as she took his arm, "Now remember, no matter what happens inside these walls I love you… and you are coming home with me…"

Luke didn't know if Lorelai was being suggestive or implying that he may be killed beyond the thick oak door.

"Yeah, I love you too!" Rory took his other arm, holding the gift bags for the Gilmores with her free hand.

Rory rang the bell and the thick oak door opened to blind Luke with a glow from inside since his eyes had been adjusted for the dark outdoors. Every surface in the Gilmore home seemed to gleam and shine. The maid, who had merely wanted to take their coats, seemed look at Luke curiously since he was holding the trays and trays of his infamous stuffing. "Oh, umm these are for the kitchen, I guess," Luke said hesitantly, thrown off by the look of horror from the maid.

"I'll show him," Rory volunteered, leading Luke away by the arm. The maid took Lorelai's coat and then followed quietly and curiously as the guest with the trays was heading to the kitchen, leaving Lorelai alone in the foyer.

Emily came into the foyer, thinking she had heard her granddaughter, "Lorelai? Where's Rory?"

"Umm, she'll be back in just a minute, Mom." Lorelai knew Rory was the only reason her mother still talked to her, but to so pointedly prefer Rory's company to her own daughter's hurt Lorelai's feelings once more.

"Where's… Duke?" Emily sneered.

"The Germans wouldn't let him out of _Stalag 17_, so he won't make it home for Christmas," Lorelai said sardonically. _Hey, that movie actually came in handy,_ narrowing her eyes at Emily. "Luke, however, is with Rory, she wanted to show him around," wanting to keep the surprise side dish a secret.

"Really? How nice," obviously the thought of some stranger wandering her home was repulsive to Emily.

_Dear God come back soon. _Every second without Rory or Luke was agony, and Lorelai's smile returned when she saw Luke and Rory coming back hand in hand, since Rory had promised she would hold Luke's hand the whole time. Rory was giggling over something that happened in the kitchen, looking at Luke with admiration until she saw her grandmother. "Hi Grandma," Rory said brightly, still giggling over what Luke had said.

"Hello Rory," Emily said sweetly, while scowling at the man she was with, ready to suspect and charge him with every horrible crime imaginable. "Why do you still have your coats on? For pity's sake…Elsa! Take my grand daughter's coat, please."

The made scurried over quickly and collected Rory and Luke's coats quickly.

Lorelai did the introductions, "Mom, this is Luke Danes, my boyfriend… Luke, this is my mother Emily Gilmore."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Gilmore," Luke offered one of his now free hands.

"Certainly." Emily took his hand limply, as if she was doing him a favor rather than being happy to meet him. She pulled away quickly, convinced she would be contaminated. _At least the man could afford a deceit quality leather jacket, but then of course Lorelai would fall for a man with a leather jacket_.

Luke handed the maid his coat and immediately complimented Emily, trying to break the ice a bit, "Umm, you have a beautiful home, they don't make 'em like this anymore…" _because the villagers all died during construction of this place and there is no one left to build the other houses;_ but he kept that to himself.

"Thank you," Emily said simply.

"Grandma," Rory said to distract all from the growing tension between Luke and his potential in law.

"Yes Rory."

"We have your presents," Rory offered a few of the bags she was carrying, trying to distract her grandmother.

"Thank you, Rory. Why don't you put them under the tree," Emily continued to stare down Luke.

Rory could sense something was terribly wrong and didn't want to leave, but Lorelai encouraged her, "Go on, honey."

When Rory left, Emily began to interrogate Luke, "How old are you?"

"I'm sorry?" Luke was taken off guard.

"Your age?" she said slowly as if he was terribly stupid.

31 m'am," Luke said, concerned at where this line of discussion would go.

"31? And you are dating my 28 year old daughter?"

"Mom, please?" Lorelai begged, she couldn't help but notice how Emily was keeping Luke near the door, as if she was moments from kicking him out. If her other guests hadn't seen him then Emily wouldn't have to explain him at all.

"And do you often prey upon young women with young children?"

"What?" Luke had to make sure he heard right.

"Mom!"

"Well, what is your fascination with my granddaughter?"

"Mom, do you hear yourself?" Lorelai hissed.

"My fascination is with your daughter," Luke corrected, sufficiently irritated at the gall of this snobby woman. "Rory happens to be part of your daughter's life, so I understand and respect they are a package deal," he tried cautiously.

"So you put up with one to have the other, is that it?"

"MOM!"

Then Emily's friend, Maureen, came in the foyer at the moment and inadvertently saved Luke from an uncomfortable conversation of further accusations. "Emily? What's keeping you?" Maureen took in the sight of Luke and appreciated the sight, "Why hello."

"Evening," was all Luke could say civilly, after having been accused of being some sort of pedophile.

"And who is this?" Maureen raised a perfectly tweezed brow.

Lorelai took over the introductions, "This is Luke Danes… "

Rory came back to Luke's side, not wanting to miss the action that was bound to happen. "He's her boyfriend," she said shyly taking Luke's hand because she didn't remember the woman and figured if she was nervous Luke would be too.

Maureen greeted Rory again, "Hello again, Rory, I was about to tell your grandmother how you are growing up far too quickly."

"It feels slow," Rory observed.

"I'm sure it does, but it goes by so quickly once you are older. Tell me how old are you now?"

"I'm 12."

"Well, that is commemorative; did you have a special party?"

Rory quickly warmed to the woman, excited to talk about her special day. "Yes! It was the best party ever; we had a costume party at Luke's …restaurant." Lorelai had coached Rory to call the diner a restaurant around her grandma's friends. "I was Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice."

"Oh, a costume party? And what were you Luke… a super hero?" Maureen was taking in Luke's broad shoulders. Lorelai narrowed her eyes at the woman, she didn't apperciate the way Maureen was checking out her boyfriend.

"He was a baseball player, actually, Mom was Wonder Woman," Rory informed.

Upon hearing Lorelai's choice of costume, Emily looked to heaven to save her from the embarrassment, while Maureen chuckled. "Well, that sounds like the Lorelai we know, did you get lots of presents?" and thanks to Maureen, the Stars Hollow trio was ushered into the living room with the rest of the guests.

At the dinner table, the conversation was pleasant enough for the Hartford group, but all of the Stars Hollow representatives felt very out of place. The dialogue consisted of people exchanging stories of trips to Europe, since Stars Hollow crew hadn't been out of New England, let alone the country, they had little to add to the discussion.

Richard spoke up to compliment his wife across the table, "I must say Emily this stuffing is fantastic!" He marveled how Emily could always surprise him and always outdo herself year after year.

Emily stared at the unrecognizable mystery side knowing for certain that is not how her stuffing looked when she checked on things before her guests arrived. "Why thank you Richard," she said, still willing to take credit for the dish she didn't pick.

This was Rory's chance, "Actually, we brought it."

All eyes when to the youngest at the table. Richard seemed to question, "You... brought it?"

"Yes, Luke and I made it… we wanted to help grandma. See, there are granny smith and red delicious apples in it so we have the Christmas colors right on your plate…"

Luke chimed in quietly and honestly, "That was Rory's idea…usually I just use the red apples."

Maureen seemed to encourage the young girl to speak. "What else is in it?" placing her chin on her hand.

Rory's second favorite topic was food and cooking with Luke, so she eagerly divulged, "Well bread of course, onions, thyme, rosemary, butter, apples, raisins…"

"And Luke taught you this recipe?"

Rory nodded, "Yeah, we cook together all the time."

"Why you're quite the chef then, aren't you Luke?" Maureen said.

Lorelai chimed in, "Well, he keeps us well fed."

"Oh yes" Rory talked Luke up. "I think my favorite is coconut breaded chicken, he's the very best chef and he's teaching me everything he knows."

Maureen smiled at how affectionate Rory was with Luke. "So umm Lorelai what are your… future plans," she hinted.

Lorelai chanced a quick glance at her mother then back to Maureen, "Well, umm, I'm the assistant manager at the Independence Inn now… so, I guess I'm staying in the area."

"…but any other major events we should know about?" Maureen eyed Lorelai keenly.

"Oh well," Lorelai looked at Luke, who seemed to have been expecting these types of questions but was just as unprepared. Lorelai looked over at her mother, who seemed to be shooting glares at Maureen for wanting to encourage the relationship. "Other than trying to snag the hope diamond, not really," she took a sip of wine.

"So Luke, what sort of business are you in again?" Joseph, Maureen's husband asked.

"He owns a restaurant, in our town," Rory said.

"Really? Good food?"

"The best!" Rory said confidently.

"What sort of food?"

"Well, I guess you call it Americana," Rory mused delicately.

"It's …actually a bit of a cafe," Lorelai fielded.

"Oh, I love cafes. Remember that little French café on our trip to Paris last spring…" and the Diner/cafe was soon forgotten now that the conversation was back in Europe.

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"And we're out," Lorelai sighed as she practically hightailed it to the Jeep. Luke let Rory into the back seat, carrying the sparse leftovers of the hit apple raisin stuffing since Rory insisted that they take it home not wanting to waste a crumb. Luke put his trays on the floor for Rory to keep an eye on so they wouldn't spill over and opened the passenger side door for Lorelai since she was slightly tipsy and he was driving them home.

Luke really didn't know what to say about the evening he just experienced. Luke really couldn't tell if that went well or not. He would look over at Lorelai on the drive home, who was happily humming to whatever was on the radio. "So… how did I do?" he finally asked.

"You survived the first five minutes, I think you were wonderful," Lorelai said confidently meeting his gaze. Then she noticed something outside and gasped excitedly. "It's a sign," Lorelai gaped.

Rory and Luke had seen it too. It had begun the first snow on Friday the Thirteenth, so Lorelai took it as a good omen, because magic things happen when it snows. The evil Friday the Thirteenth was now checkmated by the magic snow.

Upon their return to Stars Hollow, Luke supplied the doughnuts, the coffee for Lorelai, and cocoa for himself and Rory as they enjoyed the first snow in the square together.

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The Gilmore party had been survived by all of the Stars Hollow crew and they were anxious for their own first Christmas together. Lorelai was counting on her mother not calling till Easter.

With Rory's impending Christmas break and her school assignments all done, Rory would hang out at the diner with Luke after school, especially if her mother was busy with a banquet, anniversary dinner, or something. There was an unusual lull one afternoon at the diner, so she and Luke were killing time by playing hangman in a scrap notebook reserved for such enlightening pursuits. Rory looked up from the paper to complain, "Luke!"

"What?"

"Sunset?"

"What? It's a word?"

"Luke, challenge me," pushing the notebook over to him to try again, "How am I going to get smarter if you don't challenge me!"

"You're smart enough but fine." He thought for a second and drew eight spaces on the paper for the new word.

Rory looked at the spaces on the paper and said sarcastically, "Oooo, eight letters, real challenging!"

"The smaller the word the less letters there are, the less likely you are to guess it. It's all about strategy."

"Fine…umm, O?" Rory guessed.

"Lucky guess…" Luke filled in the correct space.

Rory smiled. "No, it's smart to try the vowels first since there are fewer, strategy," she shot back. "Umm E?"

Luke shook his head because she was right again, and filled in the 2 E spaces. While Rory thought of more letters, Luke decided to ask, "Hey, Rory."

"Yes, Luke?" she was still staring at the notebook.

"Well, I'm gonna need your help with Christmas dinner… is that okay?"

"Happy to help, I like cooking with you," she absently admitted while trying to think of two letters to fill the spaces between one "E" and "O" in Luke's eight letter word.

Luke liked cooking with Rory too. It was nice to have someone to teach what he knew to and soon he knew he'd need her help with more than just turkey gravy.

"Umm an L?" she guessed.

Luke smiled and drew a head on the gallows on the paper. After a few more guesses, the hangman had developed a body and two arms, but was saved a leg when Rory guessed "N".

"Hey, Luke."

"Yeah?"

"What are you getting Mom for Christmas?"

Luke decided to check on her intentions, "Asked you to spy, did she?"

"No… I was… well, I was wondering … if maybe you needed some ideas... I thought I could help… I mean… who knows her better than me…right?" Rory wanted to state her case and let him use her expertise and knowledge. Also she was a bit curious and afraid of what Luke would come up with on his own. "Is there… a T?"

"Yes," he smiled and added the letter to its proper place in the eight-letter word. "I do have a few ideas I'd like to run pass you, if and only IF you promise not to spoil the surprise…"

"I promise, Pinky swear," Rory held up an excited little finger, forgetting the game they were playing.

"Okay… good…"

Rory insisted again, waving her little finger at him. "Luke… Pinky swear… other wise it's not official…and I can tell."

Luke snuck a peak out the windows to see if any one would see and then offered up his pinky which Rory shook with her own.

"Okay…now that's settled… what ideas have you got?" She wanted to know what Luke had in mind for her mother.

"You haven't finished the word yet… you still have three spaces."

Rory focused on the word again, _space, N, E, space, space, O, T, E. _"Umm, anecdote?" she guessed.

"How did you… you're right," Luke shook his head in astonishment. He didn't know why he was surprised anymore.

Rory smiled, Luke was always thinking of Lorelai. Her mother was full of anecdotes. The legless hangman forgotten, Rory moved the notebook aside to get down to business. "Okay, Christmas presents. What have you got?"

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The days till Christmas wound down and Gimore/Danes group watched the nativity procession as Lorelai and Rory had every year since they moved to Stars Hollow and which Luke usually avoided. It wasn't as bad as he thought it would be, it had that little Lorelai sparkle, like everything else he did with the Gilmore Girls.

Luke hated gift giving, he knew he wasn't any good at it, despite Rory's assurances that he was right on the money. _More like just out of money, but Rory is right, she is worth it!_

When Christmas day finally arrived, Rory and Lorelai, who was just as excited as Rory or even more so, were upstairs bouncing him awake in their bed, Luke sighed and got up, happy that he had learned his lesson from the first day of school to wear PJs to bed on such occasions.

Sookie was out of town visiting her folks and Morey and Babette were at gig with some of Morey's friends in New York, so Luke, Lorelai, and Rory enjoyed their intimate celebration and took turns opening gifts left by their friends and close neighbors. Rory purposefully sought out Luke's gift. Luke had such great ideas for Lorelai that Rory couldn't wait to see what was in store for her. She was surprised by the size of the box since she had been expecting another book from Luke. Rory put the box on the coffee table, pulled off the lid and was surprised to find her very own apron with Luke's Coffee Cup logo on the front. "Oh Wow!" Rory exclaimed. She pulled it out of the box and put it over her head and tied it on. "Luke, I love it! Look mom, it has his logo on it," Rory proudly showed her chest. "Mom, it has pockets in front!"

"Custom made?" Lorelai asked Luke. Then appraising the fit on her daughter, Lorelai commented, "Little big, don't you think?"

"It's adjustable and she'll grown into it," Luke was certain.

Then in the box, Rory saw there were her very own set of kitchen utensils, including measuring spoons and cups, assorted funnels, pastry scraper, spatula, tongs, a pasta scoop, a rolling pin, and a whisk. There was a book in the box, but it was a journal filled with blank pages. Rory looked at Luke for an explanation as she flipped through the empty pages.

"It's a journal, to write down your own recipes."

Now understanding his thoughtful plan, Rory smiled, appreciative that he kept encouraging her creativity. It was like his way of repaying her for his baseball card project.

"Keep digging," Luke said, knowing she was expecting something else and he wasn't about to disappoint.

Rory pulled away the tissue paper and found another wrapped present inside. Rory knew it was another book, since it was hard and rectangular. She peeled away the paper, "The Princess Bride! Mom, he got me The Princess Bride, in hard cover!"

"Well, you watch the movie over and over again," Luke chuckled, "and you can do that contrast and compare thing you like so much."

"Thank you! For everything, I love them all!" and Rory hugged Luke still wearing her apron.

"You're welcome, Rory."

"Now, it's your turn," Rory declared, and she went to get a small envelope that ones placed in the tree branches, "It's from Mom and me."

Luke smiled at the smaller, more subtle gesture compared to his Birthday Hoopla, Luke opened the envelope forgetting that big things came in small packages. He unfolded the paper to reveal a homemade gift certificate that read_: IOU 3 baseball games_. And the fine print was written, _in which I, Lorelai Gilmore, will accompany one Luke Danes, and not complain about being bored or make comments about the players butts or spitting._

He looked up at the girls who were smiling; he may have been hung up on the butts comment, because all he could say was, "What?"

Lorelai explained, "Well, we always drag you to things we want to do, it's your turn to drag us some place… I was going to get you the actual tickets …but apparently they don't play baseball in winter…"

"No kidding?" he said sarcastically.

"I know, I mean every time I called for tickets they were closed, I even tried Ticketmaster and they laughed at me, and I didn't know where the nearest baseball arena thingy was to drive there. Isn't it in like Maine or something like that? Anyway because I couldn't talk to a live person about baseball, I wasn't really sure of the schedule, or which teams would be a better match up and obviously I couldn't talk to you about it because that would spoil the surprise. So, I thought we could go to a few games whenever the season starts. Oh, maybe spring training, we could watch the training, I hear that on the news from time to time," Lorelai suggested.

Luke had to chuckle at her misplaced thoughtfulness, latching on to a tidbit she had heard and still not really understanding what it all meant. "Spring training is usually in Florida or Arizona," Luke informed, "Its too cold here up north."

"Oh," Lorelai learned something new. "Well, still, the games will be fun, you pick the games, and I'll pay… I'll even buy you a hot dog…"

"Do you know what goes into hot dogs?" Luke scolded.

"No idea," Lorelai shrugged.

"Exactly, I'm not eating a hot dog," It was one thing when Luke made burgers himself and he knew what went in them, something completely different to have a factory processed treat that you had to trust the government to deem was okay for human consumption at the ballpark.

"When you are going to a baseball game you are supposed to eat a hotdog!" Lorelai insisted.

Rory chimed in now, "and Peanuts and Crackerjacks!"

"Exactly!" Lorelai chuckled.

Luke smiled at her homemade certificate, her willingness to put up with his likes the way he did with hers. Wanting him to have fun once in a while with things he liked. Luke only hoped she liked her present just as much.

Rory handed Lorelai the box from Luke, since it was now her turn. With a smile on her face Lorelai opened her first gift ever from Luke. Her smile widened, "Luke!"

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Rory christened her new apron helping Luke with Christmas dinner. Lorelai was amazed that such a large turkey could fit in her shoe organizer a.k.a. the oven. Rory almost wanted to sleep in her new apron, but Luke convinced her that crumbs and splatters would ruin her sheets and he promised to wash it so it would be fresh for tomorrow.

Luke was already in bed waiting for Lorelai to join him. Seeing Lorelai walked in to the bedroom wearing the pajamas he had given her caused him to smile. The new pajamas had tiny blue, white, and light blue snowflakes. "You don't have to wear those," as he sat on his side of the bed.

"Why Luke, you're being a little forward tonight," she giggled. "How about you try to romance me just a little, you know, some effort at foreplay," Lorelai teased in a dirty tone, as she settled in under the covers with him in her beloved new PJs.

"That's not…" and Luke grunted to himself, sometimes Lorelai could be really annoying and he had to stop and think of why he was in love with her. "I just meant if you didn't like them… you didn't have to use them," Luke rolled his eyes, referring to his lame present that he got for her, his doubt and lack of confidence in the gift-giving arena convinced him Lorelai was just being polite.

"Luke, I love them. They are perfect."

"Come on."

"I do," she assured him, "I absolutely do, they are cute and blue… and they have snowflakes on them… they are flannel so I'll stay warm and make me think of you… they are perfect."

"And you won't have to steal my flannel shirts to sleep in anymore…"

"You said I looked good in your shirts!"

He brushed back some of her hair as she cuddled up with him, "Well, these bring out your eyes…"

"… And they go with my sterling silver snow flake earrings and pendant, which are also beautiful," the ones she had worn since she unwrapped them, the ones she had worn all day, the ones she only took off because it was time for bed. She kissed Luke for the shiny gifts as well as her comfy ones. "Thank you again."

"Well, you've been talking about the magic of snow for like a month, and well I saw these…" fingering a button of the PJs.

"Well, I love everything."

"Yeah well, you can't go wrong with jewelry, right?" as he gave her a squeeze.

"…or asking the daughter for help…" Lorelai smiled.

Luke couldn't believe it after Rory made him pinky swear, "She told you…"

"Don't worry, she didn't spoil the surprise, she just told me downstairs, because well I was drilling her how you picked everything out. And she gave you full credit that they were all your ideas, you just sought out her approval since she knows me best."

They could hear the sigh of Christmas snow falling just outside the window, and after a few quite moments, Lorelai suggested, "You know, Luke … I could take off my PJs if you wanted," and she started to kiss his scruffy neck.

"Lorelai," Luke groaned, already feeling her affect on him.

Her kisses went up to his ear, "You know it is a holiday. It's practically a government mandate that we have sex." She moved over to his mouth, slipping her hand under his shirt, "Let the president lead the way."

It didn't take much convincing. Lorelai's beloved new PJs were now tossed on the floor and Luke, usually not an optimist or Mr. Sunshine, was happy as he fell asleep with a naked Lorelai in his arms again, and he couldn't help but think:

…_This has been the best Christmas ever_.

**777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
A/N: apple raisin stuffing saves the day!  
A/N: BEGRUDGINGLY Purple Ribbon! For season 7 ugh! But I am NIAVE NO LONGER!  
A/N: morosely really is a great word…  
Localizy Sounds Off:**

**Dear ASP.**

**I will eviscerate you in fiction. Every pimple, every character flaw. I was naked for a day; you will be naked for eternity. You have been weighed. You have been measured. And you have absolutely…Been found wanting. Welcome to New World. God save you, if it is right that he should do so.**

**Regards,**

**Localizy, beta and wonder twin to a much better author then you because she gives us… oh I don't know…what the fans want!**

**A/N: HEY The Massacoustics just got back from their tour in Germany and they finally saw Season 5 and 6 of the offending show…They were so disturbed they broke into song:**

**Heavy  
Andy Thompson, Matt Thompson  
Dedicated to ASP CRAZY ASS BITCH**

**Do you ever feel tired of dragging it around?  
You think you've got it figured out,  
Don't bring it up now.  
So drop it and forget it  
It will kill you if you let it.  
Could you put it down?**

**Why does it always have to be so heavy?  
When all it ever does is weigh us down.  
You know that this could be so easy,  
But you choose the hard road you take the hard road out.**

**Do you ever stop talking with a pessimistic tongue?  
You can't keep from thinking about the negatives to come.  
You're so positive nothing will ever work out.  
You're obsessively progressing  
So I'm finally protesting  
Could you put it down.**

**Why does it always have to be so heavy?  
When all it ever does is weigh us down.  
You know that this could be so easy,  
But you choose the hard road you take the hard road out.**

**777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you NON POD Luke!  
7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 **

**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund... **


	41. Wake Up Call!

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. **

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: AW If you DON'T KNOW BY NOW! HURUMPH! **

**LUVZ: I miss you! **

**FEATURED BETA: Localizy, _you and me are like PEAS and CARROTS!_**

**A/N: QUALITY FAN FICTION? You tell me... R/R**

**77777777777777777777777777777777  
Chapter 41:  
Wake Up Call!**

The year turned over and it was now 1997. Lorelai and Rory used their world famous persuasion to get Luke to attend the Stars Hollow New Years Carnival in the square and win them special prizes from the games. Each girl's arms were filled with the stupid stuffed animals their hero begrudgingly won for them and all they could do was watch the fireworks display at midnight with Mia and Lane.

Later on, Luke and Lorelai had some fireworks of their own, just like the Fourth of July. It was the middle of the night and Lorelai was still awake. Sure, Luke was already dozing off after their bout of affection, but Lorelai wanted to savor the moment. She loved moments like this; Quiet, content, post coital, Luke's fingers were leisurely grazing her skin, just behind her arm and below her shoulder, his pace getting slower and slower as he was drifting off to sleep. Lorelai was similarly tracing lazy lines on his stomach and chest wondering how she ever got so lucky to have such a wonderful man all for herself. Lorelai was debating about letting her hand dip below the sheet to see if she could rally Luke's passion again when the phone rang, piercing their moment.

Luke snapped awake and groaned, "Who could possibly be calling?"

"Maybe they just want to wish us a Happy New Year," Lorelai said while she rolled away from her naked man to answer the cordless phone from her night stand, "Hello?" she asked sleepily.

"Hello? Umm, is Luke there?" a crying, sniffling woman asked.

Lorelai had never heard the voice before but obliged anyway, as the voice seemed distraught. "Oh, umm, yeah? Hang on." Lorelai turned to Luke, handing him the phone, "It's for you."

"What?" Luke's brow furrowed, knowing he never received phone calls at the new house, but he took the phone. "Hello?" Lorelai watched on a propped elbow, confused and concerned at what was going on. "Liz? What's going on? ... Will you calm down? I can't understand you when you get all high pitched like that…Hey, don't be lecturing me about people who are hard to find… Well, you found me, so obviously you were redirected to the right number… People have been know to move from time to time, Liz, jeez," he shot off sarcastically, rolling his eyes for Lorelai's benefit, who smiled lamely in return. Luke was trying to will himself awake again for his sister, "I'm here now, you found me…what do you need?"

Then Luke sat bolt up right in bed. "What?" he exclaimed, then sighed heavily. "Aw Liz…" and Lorelai's hand instantly went to rub his back as he shook his head at whatever his unfortunate relation was telling him.

Luke's sister, with another late night rescue plea. During any other phone call, if Lorelai and Luke were naked in bed, Lorelai would have tried to kiss him or touch him in an inappropriate way to get him to hang up, but seeing as this was probably an emergency, Lorelai was on her best behavior beside Luke.

"Okay, okay, hang on a minute," and Luke handed the phone to Lorelai, and she didn't know what to do with it. Luke got out of bed and put on his sweats and a shirt. Luke found his blue and white plaid flannel he had worn that evening, tossed it on the bed toward Lorelai, and gestured for her to put it on. "Trust me," he whispered, as he took the phone back. Luke sat on the edge of the bed, with a notebook he had kept on the nightstand out of habit, resting it on his knee, a pencil in one hand, and the phone in the other; slightly more awake than a minute before, ready to talk to Liz again, "Okay, start from the beginning."

Lorelai put her arms through his flannel and listened to his side of the conversation.

"Jeez, Liz!" Luke sighed again, leaning forward with an elbow in his knee as he rubbed his temples. "Why didn't you call me sooner?"

Just as Lorelai was finished buttoning the shirt, there was a small knock on the bedroom door.

"Come in?" Lorelai adjusted the shirt to make sure her essentials were covered by flannel or comforter. Luke and Lorelai apparently weren't the only ones disturbed by the shrilling phone call, as the door opened and a sleepy Rory trudged in the room in her nightgown. Lorelai now knew why Luke wanted her to cover up and was amazed how in tune Luke was to her daughter's curiosity.

"Who would call at this time of night?" Rory grumbled with squinting eyes, sounding so much like Luke. Rory plopped onto the foot of the bed with Colonel Cluckers under her arm and tried to assess why Luke was on the phone.

"Okay, okay, fine… Well, there's nothing we can do about that now… we have to deal with things as they are… now how much do you need?... Aw Liz…" Luke grumbled again scribbling down in the notebook.

"Who's Liz?" Rory whispered to her mother.

"Luke's sister," Lorelai smiled, putting an arm around her daughter as she sat with her in bed.

"Aw, right," Rory barely remembered the few references Luke made about his sister, especially when she had just woken up.

"Alright, what's the name of the place? Alright, well, it may be faster if I just drove down there and brought the money…" Luke wrote down a few more notes, and ended the call with, "I'm on my way…I'll see you in about three hours." He hung up and Rory rolled over on her stomach to hear what was going on.

"Luke?" Lorelai asked.

"My sister is being evicted."

"Why?"

"She hasn't paid rent in three months," Luke said flatly.

"Oh, well, that's a reason," Lorelai said lightly.

"She lost her job and has been avoiding her landlord the last few weeks. So the new year means a new month which means a new rent added to what she already owes. What with the rent owed and lease agreement fines, well … I'm fronting her the money." Turning his attention to Rory, "I'm sorry the call woke you, Rory."

"Is she gonna be okay?" Rory asked, now propped on her elbows at attention to the seriousness of the situation.

"Well, we'll see," Luke said mirthlessly. "I have to head down there, her land lord threatened to call the cops…if he doesn't have the money by morning."

"Wow, she likes to cut it to the wire," Lorelai was surprised.

"Yeah, same old Liz, any way I gotta get down there and sort everything out… find her a new place…again…"

"Where?" Rory asked.

"New York," Luke told her.

Rory shot up from her relaxed pose and exclaimed, "You can't go to New York! Don't you read the paper! It has the highest crime rate in America… what if you get hurt?"

"I won't get hurt."

"How do you know?" Rory challenged.

"I promise I won't get hurt."

"Well, unless you get the word of the criminals how can you guarantee that? Oh wait, you can't because they are criminals, so their word means nothing!" Rory crossed her arms.

"Rory, this is my sister. I have to go."

"Well, how long will you be gone?" Rory asked.

"I don't know…the last time she needed me I was gone a week."

Rory sunk into her mother and Lorelai hugged her.

"I can promise I will make it back here as quickly as possible."

"As safely!" Rory insisted.

"As quickly and as safely as possible," Luke promised.

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Lorelai didn't like Luke being out of town. Naturally, Luke called to check in, to tell the girls he arrived safely, and that he didn't know how things were going to play out for his sister. Caesar and Ben had the diner under control so Luke wouldn't loose any business. However, neither of them knew how to make a decent batch of coffee in Lorelai's opinion. Lorelai kept busy at work, but things kept coming up to remind Lorelai Luke was out of town. The fish in the Inn's pond didn't look healthy and a vet had to be called. Mia mentioned she wanted Luke to look at some picture frames that had to be re-bolted to the wall, as part of his handyman agreement, but Lorelai had to inform her he was out of town helping Liz. Mia seemed to expect as much, knowing how dedicated Luke was to family, knowing Luke was the only one who could look after his sister with their parents gone.

What was even worse for Lorelai were the lonely nights in bed. She had grown so accustomed to his mass on her right side, warm and willing to cuddle with her if she was cold. Without him, Lorelai would toss and turn, and sigh, would think about Luke and what he was up to in exciting New York City. She knew he wasn't a "paint the town red" kind of guy, that his sister was in trouble and might be more of a headache than he would let on over the phone. The second night he was gone, Rory had come upstairs to sleep with Lorelai because she had had a nightmare about Luke in New York City all by himself. "It will be okay sweetie," Lorelai whispered to an upset Rory, "he'll be home soon." Words of comfort for both Gilmore girls.

The fourth day of the New Year was a Saturday. Rory still had another week off before school started up again. Rory decided to be productive and started using her new recipe journal. She tried to smile as she copied down the recipes she had made up with Luke, like her popular _Rorio Tacito Supremo_, as Lorelai had named it. However, Rory's heart wasn't really in her transcription project because she missed Luke so much. Resting her chin on her hand Rory looked out her window and then saw Luke's green truck pull up in front of the house. Rory gasped a deep breath and hollered from her bedroom. "Mom! Luke's back!" and she ran out to meet Luke and welcome him home. Lorelai was close behind, but slowed her pace on the porch steps when she saw a woman, presumably his sister, and a young boy about Rory's age get out of Luke's truck with him.

"Hey," Luke brightly greeted Rory with a hug. "Where's your jacket?" rubbing her shoulders.

"Oh umm I forgot it…" Rory said, not noticing the cold and forgetting to bundle up for the happiness of seeing Luke.

Lorelai had grabbed the coat from the mirrored table, then came out and put it on her daughter's shoulders looking at Luke for an explanation of his company.

Luke picked up the hint in his girlfriend's gaze and introduced, "Umm Rory, Lorelai, this is my sister Liz."

"Hi," Lorelai said, still curious what they were doing in Stars Hollow if Luke had straightened everything out in New York.

"Hey," a hippie chick with bright red streaks in her brown hair waved.

"And this is Jess, my nephew," Luke gestured to the boy across from Rory.

"Hi," Rory shyly held out her hand, not really being acquainted with many boys.

Jess furrowed his brow and just stared at her hand.

Liz encouraged, "Come on, Jess, don't be shy."

"Hey," was all the boy said, limply shaking Rory's hand.

"Nice… to meet you," Rory said warmly, yet looking for reassurance from Luke.

"Umm, Hey Rory… Jess is a big reader too," Luke said. "Why don't you show him your room and all the books you have."

Rory was smart, she new the adults needed to talk about important things, so she took Luke's suggestion and showed Jess into the house.

Lorelai looked from the front door and Jess' hunched, shuffling form, back to Luke and Liz for an explanation of their presence in town.

"She's adorable…she yours?" Liz observed, looking towards her brother.

"Umm, no," Luke confessed.

"Huh?" Liz turned to Lorelai and asked, "You pregnant?"

"Liz!" Luke admonished.

Lorelai honestly answered, "Umm, no."

"But you're living together?" Liz checked again.

"Liz!" Luke rolled his eyes again at his sister's lack of tact.

"What? I leave town for a while and everything's changed. You move out of Daddy's office, you're living with a woman…How am I supposed to know?"

"Liz, I told you about Lorelai before…"

"You did?"

"Yes, I did," Luke already figured his sister's lifestyle was the very thing that made her forget important family details. Granted it was almost a year ago since he first brought up Lorelai.

"Wow, you'd think I remember if my brother, the monogamy wonder, was dating a woman with a kid. Or had moved…"

Luke grumbled, "Maybe if you paid your phone bill… I could have told you."

"Aw, don't start that again," Liz waved off. "When was the last time I called you…"

"The Charlie aftermath?"

"Aw, right. Man, he was a jerk, he totally took all the cash I had squirreled away… didn't even leave me the coffee can, he swiped it right out of the toilet."

"The toilet?" Lorelai had to ask, trying to picture it, _Maybe one of those smaller coffee cans._

"Yeah, I had it hidden in the toilet tank; I got the idea from _Pretty Woman_. As soon as I trusted him enough to let him know where it was hidden… yonk, he stole it…and my TV and my son's stereo and half our CDs…and…"

"Wouldn't it have rusted? The coffee can?" Luke had to ask trying to be the helpful brother.

"Well, we'll never know now," Liz shrugged, with a C'est La Vie giggle. "Hey, umm can I go in to have something to drink? That was a long drive."

"Umm, sure, there's a water bottle in the kitchen," Luke automatically offered since it was now his house too.

"Ooo bottled water, fancy," Liz teased her brother and went in the house.

"So that's Liz," Lorelai said to Luke, almost in awe of the free spirit her boyfriend was somehow related too, wondering how two siblings could be so different if they had the same parents.

"That's Liz," he confirmed.

At this point Lorelai was bursting to the seams with questions, "Luke?"

"They aren't staying here," he eased. "I already explained that I'm living with you now and there's no room here, so Liz and Jess are gonna use my old apartment …for now."

"Your old apartment? Above the diner?"

"Well, yeah… it's only temporary."

"You trust your sister at the diner?"

"Well, we don't really have a choice. It's the middle of winter! What am I supposed to do? Leave em to the street, which by the way was my sister's brilliant plan before she called me no doubt to guilt me into coming down there. Look, till I can find em a new place, there isn't another option…"

"So, Liz is gonna use the bed at the diner?" _The bed we use when we need alone time away from Rory._

"Well, she has her own, but we put most of their stuff in a storage unit back in New York, again only temporary…"

"Well, where is Jess gonna sleep?"

"On my old twin bed?"

Lorelai blinked, "Excuse me?"

"My old twin…"

"You still have that?"

"Yeah, I put it in storage…"

"Luke, your old mattress?"

"Yeah," Luke shrugged.

"Your nephew is gonna sleep on your 'God knows how old' mattress? … The one that we…" Lorelai looked at him pointedly so she didn't have to complete her thought, _consummated our relationship on?_

"Oh," Luke seemed to realize what she was saying and didn't speak for a full minute, "I umm…"

"Glad to add some much needed perspective to the situation," Lorelai grinned.

"Well, we could just get him a new one…" he shrugged.

"I would," Lorelai smiled.

"And get rid of the old one…"

"Good plan," Lorelai agreed, knowing being sentimental had its limits.

"Well, what about… you know… the new bed …I mean, Liz…"

The new double bed Luke had gotten for the diner apartment had only been "christened" a few times when they had dates where Rory was absent and needed to be alone. "Well, what she doesn't know won't hurt her." Lorelai patted his cheek, loving the fact that without her, he'd never have thought of those little logistics.

"Oh My God!" Liz came out the front door. "When you said bottled water I thought you meant the tiny ones, I didn't know you had a big one like that… that is so cool!"

Lorelai had to chuckle that she wasn't the only one who liked how the large bottled dispensed.

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Luke had a lot to juggle in his life what with the diner, Lorelai, Rory, and now his sister. He had a lot of catching up with his ordering since he had been gone, on top of finding Liz a new place. Liz made no effort to assist her brother, not even to find a new job in New York or anywhere; leaving the entire burden solely on Luke. This bugged Lorelai immensely. She saw all the time Luke was putting in for his sister, never once expecting reciprocation, taking time away from her and Rory. She saw how tired he was when he came home and went right to sleep, not having taken a real break for lunch or dinner, trying to use any spare moment to make long distance calls to New York, while Liz wasted away afternoons with her old friends from high school that were still in town. Lorelai began to wonder how often this occurred since Luke seemed so used to it; dismissing his efforts as "You take care of family." Lorelai knew Luke felt obligated to help since he was the only reliable family Liz and Jess had left with their parents long gone. Lorelai only hoped she'd have half of Luke's patience by the end of the visit.

Rory also found Jess' behavior a little strange, how he would always keep to himself. He would hang out at their house since he was also on a break from school, but he wouldn't talk to anyone, not even his own mother. Currently, Jess was self-exiled sitting on the porch, in the middle of a New England January. Rory decided to try and make some head way, being his same age, and attempt to keep him company. "Hi," Rory said to Jess as she came out on the porch, finding him reading on the porch steps in the cold.

"Hey," he said clearly annoyed with the intrusion, already bored with this tiny town after only a week.

"Can I join you?" Rory asked bundled up in her coat and gloves.

"It's your house," Jess rolled his eyes.

Rory sat on the other side of the steps and threw her scarf over her shoulder as she had seen Luke do countless times in the winter season, to protect her throat from getting sore. "What are you reading?" Rory asked politely.

"Hemingway," Jess said dully, then noting the book in her hand, "You?"

"Morganstern."

"Who?"

"The Princess Bride. Luke gave it to me for Christmas since I love the movie so much."

"Nice," Jess said in his monotone as though he wasn't impressed. "He got me some Poe." Rory couldn't tell if he was trying to one up her, or if he was simply telling her the truth. Jess was somewhat hard to read, for as sarcastic as he seemed to be, one would have thought he'd get along better with the Gilmore girls. However, Jess seemed moody, gloomy, and not very talkative.

"Luke is really thoughtful," Rory observed, finding the place she left off in her book.

Jess countered, "Yeah, I just don't know why he bails my mom out all the time though."

"That's just what Luke does, he likes to help," Rory said brightly.

"Yeah, or have someone to leech off of him, it must suck to have a sibling."

"I wouldn't know. My mom's an only child … so am I," Rory shrugged.

"Me too," and that was the first bit of common ground that put Rory at ease. Now that a rapport had been established, Jess decided to pose, "So what's the deal with your mom?"

"What do you mean?" Rory asked.

"Well, I know she and Luke are… you know,"_ having sex, _"…together? But where's your dad?"

"I don't know," and Rory sighed, the way she always did when her biological father was mentioned now, "and I don't care," starting at the top of the left page to read.

"You don't care?" for the first time, Jess' voice showed emotion, changed with surprise. "You're not curious at all?"

"Not really, I know enough…" Rory said haughtily.

"You know enough?" Jess repeated indignantly.

Rory firmly explained, "He left the state shortly after I was born, I've met him a few times, but he's very unreliable and flaky and frankly I don't need the aggravation over someone who is not interested in the fact that I share chromosomes with him. I have Luke, he has proven himself time and time again as a father figure, and he's all I need."

Jess admitted quietly, "I've never met my dad…" sounding jealous of Rory, at least she had someone to hate.

Rory sincerely said, "I'm sorry."

"I think he left when I was about a year old, my mom never talks about him… and she's always trying to replace him…"

"Wow," Rory didn't know what else to say to that. Lorelai had been so hesitant about dating, but when she met Luke, Lorelai couldn't let such a special guy slip through her fingers. Despite being skittish about marriage, Lorelai let Luke in their life, their house, and now they were a family of sorts. Her mother had made it very clear that she wasn't looking for a step father for Rory, or trying to replace the elusive Christopher, but Rory needed that void filled and was happy to have Luke as the man for the job. Merely trying to bond with Rory so they got along while he dated Lorelai, Luke had inadvertently and happily became so much more to both Gilmore girls. "Well, you know, Luke's really been a great role model to me, I wouldn't mind sharing him, since he is your uncle and all."

"Well, that's very generous of you," Jess said sarcastically.

"I'm serious. Luke is a really great guy to have around. He respects my opinions, he really listens, and he's always willing to help with anything. I mean, he really helped me sort out my feelings and make my decision about my dad. Maybe if you need someone to talk to, you could talk to Luke."

"Maybe," Jess shrugged, "I don't really know him that well, the only time I see him really is when my mom is in trouble, and he's always so busy helping her out…"

"Well, that's the joy of a small town, the pace is slower. Since you and your mom are staying for a while, take advantage of it. Talk to him and try to get to know him. I did."

Jess considered her perspective and then thought about the Luke-Lorelai situation again. "Do you… think your mom and Luke will get married?" thinking of all the times he had been a "ring bearer" for his mother.

"That's the plan," Rory said happily.

"They're engaged?"

"Oh, not yet," she admitted, "Don't say anything, but that's all I'm waiting for. My mom and Luke, they are just so in love. They're like… Wesley and Buttercup," she sighed again.

"Who's buttercup?"

"The Princess Bride," Rory clarified, holding up her book, _Duh!_

"Her name is Buttercup?"

"Yes. It's a fairy tale."

"You're 12 and you're still reading fairy tales?"

"Well, you're 11 and you're reading a book by a man who blew his brains out…" Rory shot back pointedly. "Maybe that's why you're so moody."

Jess considered her point for a moment, "Touché" Jess acknowledged. They nodded a truce to each other from their opposite sides of the steps and the possible future cousins both continued to read on the porch in silence.

Finally, Rory had to ask, "Aren't you cold?"

"Nah, I do this all the time in Central Park," but really Jess was only trying to sound tough, since in reality he was cold.

"Like the real Central Park?" Rory was intrigued.

"Yeah, usually my mom doesn't like me in the apartment… you know, when her boyfriends are over…"

"That doesn't seem fair."

"Well, that way it is…more convenient," Jess alluded.

Oblivious still to the relations between men and women, Rory shrugged, "Still doesn't seem fair." _I've never been kicked out for Luke to sleep over…then again we have a house, and more room._ "Hey, can we take this inside? I can make hot chocolate and I know where my mom keeps the mini marshmallows."

Jess had to admit, this burg was even colder than New York, "Yeah, alright," he agreed with a begrudging tone, but seemed to have a small smile now that he had a friend as smart as he was.

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A few days later, Luke was hard at work and Liz was hardly working since she was still unemployed. Since Liz had so much time on her hands on Lorelai's day off, Liz came over to Lorelai's house with Jess again. It gave her a release from the boredom of Stars Hollow, a chance to bond with her brother's roommate, and Jess had a playmate of sorts with Rory. It was much better then staying cooped up in her father's old office/apartment doing nothing. Rory had taken Jess to the bookstore, leaving Liz and Lorelai for some girl talk.

"So… Lorelai," Liz causally began, "What's your angle?"

"What angle?" Lorelai was simply trying to brew another pot of coffee as a means to continually deal with Liz; _must stay caffeinated_. Lorelai had to admit the loose mouth and fancy-free attitude of Liz was getting on her nerves. Lorelai understood Luke had no choice but to bring Liz to Stars Hollow and Lorelai knew if Luke could survive her parents, she could survive Liz for a few weeks.

"Aw, don't be shy now, it's just us girls. I mean, what's the deal? What's going on with you and Luke?"

"What? We are living together," Lorelai said simply.

"But how did you get Luke to agree to that? I mean, I love my brother but he's always been a bit of the straight and narrow type, you know," Liz chuckled in her scratchy voice. A voice she got from smoking so much Lorelai figured, which Luke insisted she was not allowed to do at the apartment, at the house, or around the kids.

"Well, it was apart of his birthday present," Lorelai still didn't understand what Liz ws driving at.

"Wow, now that is ingenious. Do think that will work on Tim?"

"Who's Tim?"

"My boyfriend, well my last boyfriend…that is we went out a few times and you know, well a couple times," Liz seemed to cackle. "I've only known him a few weeks, but I have a certain instinct about people, you know …"

Lorelai kept to herself, _sure, instinct, that's how you have been married, what? Three times already…_

Liz continued, "The times he had been around Jess, you know, I could just tell, he's a real father figure. I hope he's still interested when I get back to New York, I wonder when his birthday is…" Liz seemed to muse to herself now.

"Is that all you're after?" Lorelai asked indignantly, having kept her mouth shut for a good seven days.

"What?

"A father for your son? A fill in?"

"Isn't that all your after?"

Lorelai cried, "NO! I am in love with your brother. I never asked him or wanted him to step up and be a father to Rory. I told him that straight off, but Rory had a need and she let Luke fill it. So now we are a family, our own unique little family…"

"Well, that's all I'm after for Jess," Liz defended.

"No, you want a bed buddy to keep you warm at night!"

"Hey!" Liz was now offended.

Lorelai continued to lecture, "My God, Liz, look at your self. You are a mother! You can't even keep a roof over your head. You have a son who depends solely on you; doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"Well, I gotta take care of me before I'm good to anyone else…"

"That's just selfish and you know it!" Lorelai was angry and frustrated and that caused her to really tear into Liz. "Getting laid isn't taking care of your self! You're only focus being to find Jess a temporary father isn't taking care of Jess! Liz, I'm not shy to admit to you that I've only been with two men in my entire life. Rory's father when I was 16 and Luke! I got the best part of Christopher when he gave me Rory, and believe me, I've tried and tried to be grateful to him for that and let him in, but he was not interested in being a father, so I gave up. I left my parents house when I was 17 and I knew I had this little person who could only count on me! I found a job, I arranged for shelter, I put food on the table. I worked hard and I saved and I bought this house all on my own. I pulled it together for my daughter because I had to. I was patient and picky and avoided the temptation of dating because I didn't want Rory to get attached to anyone who wouldn't be there the next month. After 10 years, I found Luke, a wonderful steady guy who noticed me, who asked me out. I didn't have a plan, I didn't try to con him, I didn't set my sights on him. When Luke found out I had a kid he was shell shocked at first, but he knew we were a package deal and yet, miraculously, he didn't shy away from us. He accepted us and we accepted him…"

"Well, not everyone can have a Luke," Liz scoffed, knowing her brother was one in a million.

"I know it! Which is why you should wait to find someone _really _special! Really worthy of your time and Jess' time. Which is why for the moment, I don't mind sharing Luke, he was your brother first; but you have got to do some leg work for yourself. He's bending over backwards for you, he is stretching himself thin for you! Do something Liz! Make some calls, look through the newspaper; help him help you!"

It was then Lorelai heard the front door slam, and Luke rounded the corner into the kitchen. The look on his face and his hands on his hips clearly told Lorelai he had over heard her at least some of her little speech from the porch. "What's going on in here?" he asked evenly.

"Nothing," Lorelai dismissed, hoping he hadn't heard, but then why else would he have asked the question. Beating him to the quick, Lorelai pushed past him, grabbed her coat from the mirrored table, and was out the front door to cool off in the January air.

Luke followed Lorelai onto the frosted lawn and stopped her by grabbing her arm. "Lorelai, what did you say to her?"

"I was just giving her some perspective," Lorelai yanked her arm away.

"Lorelai, you can't just yell at my sister. I'm trying to help her out…"

"So am I!" Lorelai shot back.

"Lorelai, what do you know about her? Who are you to be giving her advice like that?"

"Well Gee, Luke. She's only told me her whole sob story for the last week while doing nothing to help herself."

"I'm helping her, she's family…"

"…and she's totally ungrateful!"

"Look, you know nothing about her situation…"

"I know nothing about her situation!" Lorelai shot back. "Hello Luke, have you met Rory? I'm a single mom too;" Lorelai gestured past him toward the house. "Your sister and I practically got pregnant at the same time! However, I grew up the minute the strip turned pink and from that moment, from the moment I first held Rory in my arms, I understood that I had to put Rory's needs above my own! A switch that obviously never flipped in your sister! You are too busy coddling her, giving her money, bending over backwards to accommodate her that she will never learn, never grow up …and she's older than me!"

"Lorelai, you can't talk to her that way, she's a crier!"

"Someone has too! You have to admit her 'laid back, whatever' attitude wears rather quickly!"

"Lorelai, you don't know what its like to have a sibling. I'm the only family she has left; she has no one else to turn to. This is my sister; I can't pick my family…"

"You picked us!"

"So, you have to take precedence?"

"No," Lorelai winced as she conceded, wondering how she got into a shouting match on her lawn with Luke when she was only trying to help Liz. "You just… have to let her … you have to straighten her out, so this won't happen again… this lifestyle isn't healthy for her, for Jess, for you…for us."

They just stared at each other for a moment. Everything that could have been said was. Lorelai turned on her heel and went for her walk.

Lorelai's "for us" struck Luke. Luke stood rooted to the spot not sure what to do to straighten out Liz, if he knew, he would have done it long ago. He didn't know what Lorelai wanted him to do if she wasn't suggesting that he turn his back on his family. He didn't know if Lorelai expected him to follow her down the street or if he should deal with his bawling sister inside.

Just then, Rory and Jess returned from another trip to the bookstore. Luke noticed how Rory nudged Jess' ribs before Jess addressed him, "Umm thank you, Uncle Luke, you know, for the book money."

Happy to have some gratitude for all he was trying to do for his relations, Luke warmly said, "You're welcome."

Rory announced, "Oh, I just remembered I have to drop some CDs off at Lane's." Rory looked pointedly at Jess for a moment longer then went back in the direction they just came from, to the center of town.

Luke looked between Jess and Rory for a moment, then saw Jess seemed to have something on his mind, as he shuffled his feet a bit. "Umm, Uncle Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, umm are you, you know, doing anything right now?"

Luke chanced a brief glance in the direction Lorelai took off in, and decided, "Not really, what do you need?"

Jess let a small smile escape, Rory had been right, Luke was always willing to help,."Well, umm I was wondering if we could…take a walk… you know and…maybe talk."

Jess seemed to have hope in his eyes, a trick he must have learned from Rory over the last week. "Sure, if you want."

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Luke followed along side Jess to the lake and the old footbridge, and Luke pointed out, "So far we've done a lot of walking, but no talking."

Jess asked, "Umm, we can stop here if you want?"

"Sure," and side by side they sat down on the bridge. "Jess? What's going on?"

"Well, Uncle Luke…?"

"Please, you can just call me Luke."

"Okay, Luke, I was wondering if… you could tell me…about my dad."

"What?"

"You knew him."

"Jess really…it's not my place to say…" _since I have nothing good to say about the guy._

"Please, Luke," Jess' tone sounded desperate. "Tell me he was a war hero, tell me he was dead beat, just tell me something, anything…I don't remember him at all and mom won't talk about him and I need to know…" Jess trailed off.

"Know…what?" Luke encouraged.

"I need to know… what I did."

"What?" Luke had that punched in the gut feeling again. "Jess that is not your fault, okay? Jimmy… Jimmy was young and scared and well frankly stupid… I can personally vouch you are better off without him."

"Do you think mom loved him?"

"Well, at the time I'm sure she did and they were together for about two-three years…"

"Well, do I look like him?" Jess actually looked up hopefully.

"Actually," Luke had to admit now that he could stare at his nephew, "You look like your grandpa." Luke hoped that would change the subject since he preferred to talk about Grandpa William than deadbeat Jimmy any day.

Lorelai was still fuming and cooling. She didn't know why the situation with Liz bothered her so much. It's not like her and Luke are married and have a joint checking account so then Lorelai would have to front Liz money. It was commendable that no matter what, through thick and thin, Luke would stand by his relations, despite the anger and frustration they caused whether they realized it or not.

Lorelai thought of her own family, how she had shut them out and was quite fine with that arrangement. To her that arrangement made sense considering they had just barely survived Christmas and every other meeting was like heading to the wars.

Then Lorelai saw them, Luke and Jess sitting on the old bridge across the lake, talking and so help her God, Jess was actually laughing at what Luke was saying. Lorelai saw she wasn't the only one who needed Luke. Just like Lorelai didn't want Liz to be selfish, Lorelai knew she couldn't be selfish either and try to keep Luke all to herself and Rory.

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**A/N: Alright I admit it… on June 3rd I wallowed… **

"**Aren't I a human being, don't I yearn, and ache and shop, don't I deserve love... and jewelry?"-(name that quote) **

**Anyway, on the third it was Keith Urban… sigh, and many, many others: **

**Don't shut me out maybe baby  
We should talk about it  
'Cause you've got your doubts but maybe, baby  
They might be unfounded **

**Have a little faith you'll make it through  
I'd never hesitate to talk to you  
If you tell me just what's weighing on your mind  
Maybe it could help you sleep tonight  
So don't shut me out**

**Don't be so proud don't ya know that  
Before a fall it leaves ya  
And it'll take you down baby that ain't  
Where I wanna see ya**

**The sun'll rise tomorrow come what may  
And you'll feel better than you do today  
And in time you'll cry no more  
I know 'cause my heart's been there before**

**And here I am when you need someone  
My shoulder's yours to cry upon  
And everybody now and then  
Needs and understanding friend around  
So don't shut me out**

**Don't shut me out maybe baby  
We should talk about it  
'Cause you've got your doubts but maybe, baby  
They might be unfounded  
Listen to your heart and clear your mind  
And you will find the answer every time  
Every road you travel on will lead  
To where it is your heart's supposed to be**

**And here I am when you need someone  
My shoulder is yours to cry upon  
And everybody now and then  
Needs an understandin' friend around  
So don't shut me out, don't shut me out, don't shut me out**

**To ASP: you made me hate Lorelai Gilmore, I didn't think it possible… but you did! **

**7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you NON-POD Luke!  
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**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund...**


	42. Find A Way That Is Right

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. **

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: AW If you DON'T KNOW BY NOW! HURUMPH! **

**LUVZ: I miss you! **

**FEATURED BETA: Localizy, _you and me are like PEAS and CARROTS!_**

**A/N: QUALITY FAN FICTION? You tell me... R/R**

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**Chapter 42:  
Find A Way That Is Right**

When Lorelai walked back to the house, she met Liz in the living room. Liz looked as though she torn through box of tissues, Lorelai felt guilty for all she had said during her out burst, and announced her return with a timid greeting. "Hi Liz."

"Aw hey Lorelai," Liz sniffled a bit, trying to hide she had been crying.

"Look, Liz, I'm sorry for what I said before…it wasn't my place."

"No, no, actually, you're right… I'm hardly the world's best mom… world's coolest mom maybe…" Liz laughed lightly as she wiped her nose again.

"Okay, see again, I'm going to have to fight you on that," Lorelai argued in jest. Lorelai walked over to Liz and sat on the couch to help her out a bit, since no one had been there to comfort her.

Liz admitted, "I know I'm a mess and I know I always rely on Luke to clean it up… and he's said exactly what you said about a hundred times before, you know. I just thought it was him being all big brother and lecturing about right and wrong like daddy used to. I mean frankly that was why I left town so young. But, I don't know …hearing it from you… someone who's been there… it really hit home… for obvious reasons." Liz sighed again. "You're right, I have to take care of my boy… cause well, I don't want him to turn out like Jimmy… and Jess deserves someone really, really special to be that role model…"

Lorelai shrugged a shoulder, "Did you ever think… he has one already… in Luke?"

"What?"

"Well, Luke is already family and he's helped me so much with Rory. He sort of has a knack for it," as Lorelai recalled the scene on the bridge she had witnessed.

"Aw, Luke hates kids. That's why I'm so surprised he's dating you… no offense."

"Well, Rory is special, and from what Rory tells me…Jess is pretty special too."

Liz smiled at the thought of her son, "He's such a brainy little guy, who knows how he got that way with me and Jimmy as his folks…"

"Preaching to the choir," Lorelai raised her arms.

"It's true what they say, you know, still waters run deep. I mean, if you can get Jess to talk then he says these really poignant things sometimes, you know."

Lorelai assured Liz, having a brainiac on her hands herself, "Well, that brainy little guy is going to need someone to show him how to be a man… and well, frankly I think we could use more Lukes in the world."

"Yeah, we could."

"As for you, I mean, love doesn't happen in a few weeks. It took me 10 years to find a Luke and months before I even could admit that I loved him," Lorelai smiled, hoping her words were more comforting than depressing. "So? Fight over?"

"Fight over," Liz agreed. She was compelled to hug Lorelai, which surprised Lorelai but happy at the peaceful gesture. Liz had gotten some real clarity from Lorelai and it was then Liz decided she wouldn't mind having Lorelai as a sister in law someday.

Just then Luke and Jess came in together seeming to have had a nice long talk themselves and very buddy-buddy as Luke had become with Rory. Luke saw the two women in the living room hugging and had to ask, "Everything alright?"

"Aw yeah? Just getting to know your girl here," Liz said brightly again. "Did you find another book, baby?" Liz asked her son.

Sheepishly Jess told her, "Yeah, umm Luke got it for me…"

"I tell yeah this guy and his books, he goes through them like water."

"Oh yeah, Rory too," Lorelai smiled still sitting on the coffee table, "I had to bar her from going on Amazon because she kept fainting."

Luke was put at ease by how friendly the two women seemed to be now that they had apparently made up.

Liz stood up and hugged both her guys, "Okay well, Lorelai and I had a nice talk…" Liz looked pointedly at Luke, and with her hands on her son's shoulders, "I want to promise both of you that I will try to be better from now on," she looked at Lorelai, then she corrected, "I will be better."

Rory had missed most of the drama and came home with not a care in the world, pleased that she had orchestrated some quality time for Luke and Jess to get to know each other. She came in the house and automatically started dinner waiting for Luke to help too. Jess, Rory and Liz headed in the kitchen and Luke and Lorelai hung back in the living room for a chance to make up themselves. Once alone, Lorelai hugged Luke, "I'm sorry, Luke."

"Yeah, me too."

"It's just you know I speak my mind and the words fly out…and you're right I don't know Liz that well …"

"Well, I think you got a good handle on her…"

"But it wasn't my place…"

"Hey I've been saying the same thing for years…and if she has finally listened to you…than what more can I ask for?"

"Luke!" Rory called from the kitchen.

"Yeah Rory?"

"Could you help me chop the vegetables, please?"

Lorelai and Luke chuckled at how life could get back to routine after such a turbulent, but constructive fight.

Before Luke could get away, Lorelai kept hold of his hand. "Wait," and Lorelai kissed him meaningfully, "We will make up officially later," she winked.

"I like the sound of that," Luke grinned.

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The following week, Ben and Caesar again had the diner under control while Luke took Liz back to New York for a few job interviews. Lorelai was happy to let Jess stay over and they adopted the slumber party arrangement in the living room again. Jess couldn't go back to school in New York just yet, since they didn't know where they would be living, but they got permission from Rory's teachers to let Jess tag along in her class so he wouldn't be far behind.

Lorelai came home after work and was going through the mail. She had a small smile on her face as she saw the mirrored table where she put her keys and purse, thinking of Luke because of the table, and missing him again. Lorelai ventured into the living room finding Rory and Jess watching a movie, slouched on the couch with a bowl of popcorn between them, their feet propped up on the coffee table.

"Hey guys? What are you watching?" Lorelai's shoulders sunk, "_Stalag 17_… again!"

Rory defended herself, "Jess has never seen it…now quiet you've already disrupted our flow," Rory turned to Jess, and finding the remote. "Do you mind if we go back? I don't want you to miss anything," as Rory began to rewind.

"No," Jess was on the edge of his seat. "Who's the traitor if it's not William Holden? Is it Duke? I mean, he's the one pointing out Sefton the loudest."

Rory grinned, "I'm watching the same thing you are," not wanting to spoil the surprise ending.

"Can we watch this again when Luke comes back?" Jess stared intently at the screen, as if he would see the stoolie who was knotting the lamplight as the signal.

Lorelai laughed at the pair of them on the couch. Lorelai knew Rory missed Luke being so involved with helping Liz, so she was watching their movie…again. Rather than cry or complain, Rory was understanding and made a new friend with Jess.

The kids had about another half hour left in the story before they had to order dinner. Therefore, Lorelai decided to unwind and went upstairs to their room, reached under her pillow, and found the shirt Luke left for her under her pillow. She had been sleeping in the snowflake bottoms he had given her at Christmas, but recently paired it with the blue and white flannel shirt Luke had inadvertently given her the night of Liz's call and Lorelai vowed never to give it back. It was soft and smelled like him, but it was hardly a replacement for the real thing. She lay on her bed, trying to relax her day away, merely holding his flannel for the moment, missing him, but determined to wait until after dinner to try to call him. She hoped everything was going well in New York so she wouldn't have to share him much longer.

Lorelai changed into civilian clothes, then ordered the kids some Chinese food for dinner, since Al was having his "Buy Three Get One Free" special. Rory had warmed Jess up and he was now talkative, so Lorelai tried to get to know Luke's nephew a little better. Lorelai begged them not to watch another war movie. Jess and Rory agreed to Indiana Jones, since it had Nazis for the kids and a lack of a war theme for Lorelai, but then the phone rang and Lorelai's eyes shot to the phone. _I win! He called first._

"Hello?" Lorelai answered smiling.

"Hey, it's Luke. How are you?"

"Fine, we miss you guys, how's the job hunt?"

"Great, actually. Liz got hired on her third interview."

"Aw yeah, where?"

"A shop called Beadazzled, it's like a jewelry shop… jewelry making… crafty…bead shop… I don't know, but Liz took to it instantly…and the manager took to her instantly and well now, she starts on the first, which hopefully gives us enough time to get a new place."

"Aww, that's great!" Lorelai exclaimed, "Hey why don't you put Liz on and I'll put Jess on and she can tell him herself. Hey Jess, your mom is on the phone."

The news perked up both kids on the couch and Rory stopped the movie. Liz told Jess about her news, while Rory and Lorelai waited to talk Luke. Lorelai got a warm feeling when Jess told his mom he missed her and that he was happy to be moving back to New York. Jess talked with his uncle for a while then passed the phone to Rory who was thrilled by the news as well, but was sad her new friend would be moving away again. Rory talked to Luke herself for about 20 minutes, "Luke, I've got a special surprise for you when you come home!" Rory assured, "but we have to have Jess here too…"

"Okay, I'm looking forward to it. Hey, put your mom back on."

Rory handed Lorelai the phone and started the movie again, since Jess had been so chivalrously waiting for her to finish her conversation with Luke.

"Hey," Lorelai smiled already climbing the stairs to their room.

"Hey, I really miss you."

"You do huh?"

"I don't like sleeping alone in a hotel," Luke confessed.

Lorelai chuckled to herself recalling the rant about hotels, a certain report on 60 Minutes involving a black light, and their recent conversation on mattresses. Lorelai teased, "Well, you're in New York, I'm sure a hot guy like you could have his pick of girls…" as she settled on the bed for along conversation, pulling out his flannel shirt again.

"Okay, I pick you."

"I'm not in New York silly."

"I don't care. You're the one I want."

"I like hearing that," smiling at the ceiling satisfied with his response.

"Hey, umm I wanted to run something past you?"

"Yeah?" Lorelai wondered if Luke was going to suggest they do something dirty over the phone.

"Well, we have to get their stuff and out of storage and into their new place before she starts working… maybe we all could come down to help?"

"Umm sure?"

With a general plan laid out to help Liz move, Lorelai and Luke talked about everything and nothing for an hour only until both were too tired to hold up the phone.

"Good night, I love you."

"I love you, too."

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It was a Sunday when Luke and Liz returned to Stars Hollow.

Rory and Jess were sitting on the couch, each leaning on opposite arm rests while facing each other, debating the pros and cons of Dorian Gray.

"Okay," Rory conceded, "I will grant that his soul and deeds being reflected in the painting is great imagery and metaphor, but you have to admit that he did trap Sibyl with that ultimatum…"

"How was he supposed to know she was gonna off her self!"

"But she wouldn't have had to if he hadn't put her in that awkward position right before their wedding!" Rory argued back, "To just assume that she is not virtuous because she waited for a man she really loved… a man she was going to marry anyway…"

"Hey guys?" Lorelai smiled. "The strangest green truck just pulled up…What's that about?" she said sarcastically.

Luke and Liz they were warmly greeted and tackled by their respective kids. Jess even hugged Luke to welcome him home. Lorelai waited till the kids were inside to really kiss Luke, which ended up being so passionate, as Luke had Lorelai flush against a porch post with Lorelai's arms around him, that it only ended when Babbette called from her own porch in her raspy tease punctuated with a cackle, "Get a room."

Once inside the welcome home/congratulations party could begin. Rory insisted that Luke rest from his long drive while she enlisted Jess' help with dinner, "He is been a very good student all week," she smiled proudly, dawing her Luke's apron again.

After dinner, Jess and Rory settled with their dessert on the floor using the coffee table to hold their plates, leaving the couch for the adults. They watched_Sixteen Candles_because both Rory and Lorelai thought Liz would enjoy it. After the movie Liz returned to the diner to get some sleep from the long trip. Jess and Rory insisted Luke had to stay where he was on the couch. When he asked why, Rory held up a tape and he smiled.

"What is it?" Lorelai asked hesitantly.

"_The Great Escape,_" Luke chuckled.

"Luke! I told you no Steve McQueen!"

"I picked it!" Rory defended, "I've been saving it for you to come home," Rory told Luke. "I've never seen it and neither has Jess …"

Lorelai looked at the tape, "It's like three hours!"

Rory countered, "That's what makes it great!" Rory leaned in to whisper to Luke, "Plus Jess wants to watch _Stalag 17_ again."

Lorelai let them have their bonding over movies. She was in the kitchen for a while flipping through magazines, and by the time Steve McQueen joined the effort for tunnel Tom/Dick/Harry, she went up to bed early knowing at least tonight she would have company again.

She was just dozing off when she felt the mattress shift and someone necking her, someone with an affinity for flannel. She rolled over and crashed onto his lips.

Luke pulled away to observe, "You're wearing my shirt…"

"You wanna take it back?" Lorelai grinned seductively, hopeful that Luke would start unbuttoning the shirt and would show her just how much he missed her too.

Later that evening, "Hmmm, welcome home," she snuggled close to him, naked under the covers again.

Lorelai turned to Luke. "I'm really happy you came home today."

"Hmm, me too," Luke was glad that his most recent obligation to his sister was nearly over.

"No, I'm really happy that you came home… _today,_" Lorelai stressed.

"Why?"

"Well, I didn't expect you to remember with all that's been going on lately but…" Lorelai shyly looked at his chest, "today … is the day we met."

Luke seemed to remember and laughed himself.

"It was at Luke's, it was at lunch, it was a very busy day," she curled his chest hair with her finger, "…and this _person_ … came into the diner just jonesing for coffee…" and she pecked his lips again.

Luke pulled her closer, "I remember it well." They kissed passionately again.

When Lorelai pulled away, she looked him in the eyes again. "If anyone…like Miss Patty had pointed you out to me a year ago and predicted 'Lorelai, you see that man there, well in a year's time not only will you be in love with him, but he will be in love with you, and will be living with you and be almost like a father to Rory'…. I would have said… 'Well sure he's cute… but living with him, in love with him, what kind of crack are you smoking and can I have some?'."

"If anyone pointed you out to me… I would have said… 'She's out of my league'…"

"Well, I am happy, on occasion… to be wrong…" Lorelai pressed her forehead against Luke's. "I love you."

"I know. Me too."

Lorelai settled in his arms again. She was happy to have her preferred, perfect pillow back where he belonged. "Oh God… where's Jess sleeping?"

"Relax; I took him back to the diner already."

"Did he like the movies?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Did Rory like the movies?" she almost scowled in the dark.

"Yes."

Lorelai was starting to dose off again but she could tell Luke was still awake and thinking. "Luke? What is it?"

"Lorelai…" he seemed almost hesitant to bring the subject up, "Has… Christopher made contact again, while I was gone? Or at all for that matter?"

"What? No, why?"

"And does he have, you know, any custody of Rory? Visitation, anything?"

"Well, no… I have sole custody. We always tried to work out visitation ourselves."

Luke considered the information, "Well, say something happened to you, what would happen to Rory?"

"Well, I guess she would go to my parents, I haven't really thought about it," Lorelai had to know, "What has you thinking like this?"

"Well, Liz has been thinking more seriously…about the future, thanks to your little talk… and well she asked me if anything happened to her... to take care of Jess, like I'd be his guardian."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, we even got it taken care of when I was in New York, and well, it got me thinking about Rory and if anything happened to you…I couldn't stand to loose you, either of you."

"Luke, you are worrying over nothing?" Lorelai soothed.

"How do you know? It's not like your mother would let me see her, not after what happened at Christmas. And people get hit buses crossing the street."

Lorelai had to chuckle, "Maybe in New York not in Stars Hollow, we don't even have a stop light."

"Well, doesn't that make it more dangerous?"

"Luke, I'm not going to be hit by a bus. Nothing is going to happen to me," and Lorelai noticed how Luke flinched at her words. "What?"

"That's just… that's just what my dad said. A month later we found out he had cancer."

"Luke, I'm not going to die of cancer," she tried to ease his pain again.

"How do you know? You don't take care of yourself."

"I have you and Rory to take care of me. You don't think I haven't noticed the occasional decaf coffee, or the ground turkey instead of ground beef. You are teaching Rory to take care of me and because I have both of you, I will be around a long, long time."

"So will I."

"Good. We need you."

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By the last weekend in January, Luke, Lorelai, Rory, Liz and Jess all went to New York City to help move Jess and Liz into their new place. Both Lorelai and Rory were very excited by the big city, but Rory reminded her mother they were there to help, not to sight see. However, Rory observed that now that they knew people in the city maybe they could visit and sight see at a later time, like with Luke's baseball games.

Luke hired a few guys from a legitimate moving company to handle the heavier furniture while the girls and Jess focused on the boxes. First thing Luke did in his sister's new place was to set up the dead bolts and add more security to the door. That first night in the new apartment reminded Rory of _Misery Week_, and, since Luke was busy hooking up the TV, Rory told Liz and Jess the story of how they camped out in the living room because she was scared of Kathy Bates.

Before they left Sunday afternoon, Luke made sure the phones worked, the power was on, and two months rent was paid in advance. With everything for the kitchen in place, the big furniture was happily situated, leaving only a few boxes left for Jess and Liz to unpack them selves, Luke hugged his sister before saying good-bye. "You are my hero, my big brother," Liz said, tears in her eyes.

"Just… stay on track this time…okay?"

"I got a great job, a great kid, a great brother… life is good." Liz patted Luke on the back and whispered in his ear, "Don't wait to long?"

"For what?"

"To make me a sister in law," Liz winked at her brother. Then, she went to say goodbye to Lorelai.

"Hey Lorelai," and Liz hugged her new friend. "I just know you're gonna make some one a great sister-in-law some day…" Liz nudged, planting the seeds wherever she could.

Lorelai chuckled and shyly looked at Luke who was saying goodbye to Jess. Rory also hugged Jess; the new friends had exchanged addresses so they could be pen pals and keep each other up to date on the goings of their respective parents.

Lorelai, Rory, and Luke piled in the van Luke had rented to return to Hartford. Lorelai kept an eye on Luke as he drove on the highway, grumbling about the crazy drivers around them. Rory had fallen asleep on her mother since she was tuckered out from the hard labor of moving. Lorelai just kept staring at Luke and wondering about Liz's words, wondering if one day they would make it all official and when she would be ready for that.

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"That was all God given talent..." why thank you NON-POD Luke!  
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**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund...**


	43. Steadfast Hearts

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. **

**R/R: Yes, please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: AW If you DON'T KNOW BY NOW! HURUMPH! **

**LUVZ: I MISS YOU MOST OF ALL SCARECROW!**

**FEATURED BETA: Localizy, _WONDER TWIN POWERS ACTIVATE_**

**A/N: I have to say it now... I... Am...So ... DAMN... PROUD OF THIS CHAPTER  
worth the wait? for QUALITY FAN FICTION? you tell me... R/R**

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Chapter 43:  
Steadfast Hearts **

With Jess and Liz settled back in New York things settled down once again in Stars Hollow; everyone was back into his or her routine. Rory was studying hard, Lorelai and Luke were working hard, and life's routine blurred into every day. Only certain special events stuck out in the Gilmore/Danes family memories as fun and surprises broke up the monotony of the every day.

One especially memorable event was the morning that Luke took a day off since he was still beat from moving things around for Liz and Jess and just needed a day to recover. Lorelai had just finished getting ready for work when Luke woke up and saw her in her blouse and dress pants and commented, "Nice top."

"Thanks, the only thing I hate about it is the beading keeps popping off which of course I can fix but still it's a hassle."

"The things you do for sparkle," Luke rubbed his eyes.

"And why are you still in bed my manly man."

"I'm the boss; I can take a day off if I want. Especially since I was rearranging furniture all weekend," he stretched in their bed.

"Yeah, I know you're so beat you weren't even up for fooling around last night," Lorelai wryly smiled. "That's never happened before," she raised a brow archly.

"Maybe I'm up for it now?"

"Ha ha, I have to go to work now, see you tonight," she meant to give him a harmless peck, but as always things were never simple. Luke kept her close and pulled her down on the bed with him. "Mmm Luke, not funny."

"Who's laughing?" as he rolled her on to her back.

When her mouth had a free moment from his kisses, "Luke, I have to go to work. Not fair…" she still laid there for a few more minutes making out with her man. "Seriously, you're going to make me lose more of my beads… I have to go…"

"I'll see you tonight," Luke smiled when he released her.

"Yes, you will," Lorelai ran her finger along his jaw line, then got out of bed again. "Mmmm I got my coffee in the morning and my man at night, do do dodo do do da do de do," Lorelai sang to herself as she walked out the door.

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Most everyone in Stars Hollow were kept warm in February by the prospect of Valentine's Day, well those with sweethearts that is.

Lorelai almost hadn't even noticed Valentine's Day was sneaking up on her until Rory mentioned she needed to pick out some for her classmates. Another telltale sign was Sookie had started complaining. Sookie, while usually sweet, was easily stressed and upset, particularly when under pressure from a Grand Chef like Raul. Sookie was getting a chance to prove herself in Raul's estimation, prove she was more than clumsy and ditzy, however it was too much stress helping plan a menu for the big night of all the impending couples that would stroll and flaunt in the faces of those who were single, not that Sookie was at all bitter. Yet, Lorelai kept her mouth shut about her own evolving Valentine's plans and enlisted Rory's help.

Lorelai didn't know what to expect from Luke on Valentines Day. The last one she had was in school where mandatory cards were exchanged and she was pretty certain that Rory was conceived around that time in '84. Luke and Valentine's Day was the subject of every conversation when he wasn't around; the girls would brainstorm on the nights he would close and pretend they had just watch a movie all evening when he came home.

February 14th arrived on a Friday, so not only was it date night, it was a holiday. Luke came up to office to put something in the safe and happened upon Lorelai in his old apartment, specifically in his kitchen. Naturally stunned to see her when she said she was working until seven he asked, "How did you…?"

"What are you doing here?" Lorelai admonished her boyfriend caught off guard herself.

"What am I… what are you doing here?" he approached her in the kitchen. "I was in the diner I would have seen you…"

"Aw man, you're spoiling my surprise," Lorelai pouted.

"What surprise?" as Luke finally took in the mess Lorelai was making in his kitchen.

"Well, I thought I'd make you dinner again…" She shrugged, wearing Rory's Luke's apron, "Surprise… It's Valentines Day…" she gestured to the beautifully set table.

"I thought we were going to Sniffy's tonight."

"Well, while I love Bud and Maisy, I wanted to be alone with you on Valentines Day. Besides, our anniversary is in a few weeks," she casually reminded, "I wanted to save Sniffy's to recreate our first date…and maybe parts of our second," she smiled wryly, stepping towards him.

"We recreate parts of our second date year round…"

"Well, Rory's recipe says this has to simmer, so we could recreate those parts now?" she stepped forward to kiss him, snaking her arms around his neck.

"The place could catch on fire… and the diner's open…"

"So close it…," she whispered.

It nearly broke Kirks heart to be kicked out of the diner on Valentine's Day since he and Luke had been reliable bachelors for so long. The fact that Luke had someone else to hang out with sent the poor, odd man off to spend the night for sweethearts with his aging mother. As he ran from the diner, he took one last look at Luke, the once reliable bachelor, locking the door and scurrying up the stairs, not even taking the time to put the chairs up on the tables. He shook his head and continued on his way, hoping that maybe next year he would have someone like Luke had Lorelai.

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With schoolwork and "work work" keeping everyone busy February flew by and suddenly it was March. With March came the impending Firelight festival, which reminded Lorelai of one thing; not the fabled founding of her beloved town, but that it was the year anniversary of her and Luke's first date at Sniffy's. Granted, March brought along with it Easter and no doubt another visit with her parents, but Lorelai was going to focus on the good of the month for as long as she could.

Lorelai wondered if Luke would remember the anniversary at all, now that he didn't have Liz occupying his every worry and thought.

On the anniversary morning of that fateful first date, Luke hadn't said anything when he woke up. Lorelai had smiled at him as she had dozens of times before, and withheld her scoff until Luke was in the shower. It wasn't her job to bring it up first, though she thought it would have helped that she reminded him about the special day on Valentine's Day. Luke had gotten up early and showered, like usual, and was already making Rory breakfast, just like any normal day. Lorelai pouted upstairs for a bit, but then figured she had to make an appearance. . Luke kindly asked if she wanted pancakes when she came in the kitchen and threw herself into a chair. It was like any other morning and suddenly Lorelai understood why women got so upset when their husbands forgot things, it seemed like they didn't care. Granted Luke wasn't her husband but it hurt just the same. Lorelai nodded to him and saw the paper on the table; Rory was already casually reading the world news while she waited for her breakfast and Lorelai followed suit. Lorelai quickly skimmed arts and leisure, thoughtfully slid the sports section towards Luke's seat, and then she opened up the style section to see her horoscope just for fun.

Lorelai's jaw went lax and then turned up into a smile. Under Aries, there was an addition to her horoscope scratched in Luke's unmistakable penmanship.  
_  
You have been very fortunate over the last year, and the future only looks brighter. Happy Anniversary_.

Lorelai looked up at Luke as he put her plate of blueberry pancakes in front of her and he leaned down to kiss her, while Rory giggled at how cute they were. Lorelai was so happy she stood up and really kissed him, which prompted Rory to raise her paper to her face and give them some privacy.

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That evening Luke took Lorelai to Sniffy's, as promised, while Rory spent the evening with Sookie and Lane at the Firelight festival until Luke and Lorelai were done with their date. Maisy was impressed, "A whole year with the same girl…Buddy! Buddy get your ass out here and wish Luke and Lorelai a Happy Anniversary…Buddy, oh where is that man…" Luke and Lorelai chuckled across the table and reluctantly accepted a complimentary bottle of champagne to mark the occasion.

After dinner, Luke was driving to the square to meet up with Rory and Lane, but instead Lorelai insisted, "Turn right."

"Lorelai? The square is left…"

"I know… turn right," she whispered as she rubbed his thigh.

If they had gone left, they would have gone to the crowded center of town littered with bond fires, all their neighbors, and music. By going right, they had their big empty house all to themselves.

Alone in their room, Lorelai's hands were still roaming Luke's body under the covers as smiled up at him, observing, "To think …I've been sleeping with the same man for a year…"

"Hmmm , tired of me yet?" he asked, still loving the sensation of his chest pressing into hers. "You want a trade in?"

"No," she said firmly but with a playful tone.

"Not curious at all? At what else, who else, is out there?"

"Nope, you're all I need," Lorelai sighed. "Besides, you keep surprising me," Lorelai said suggestively, as she rubbed her foot on the back of his calf. "Honestly, I thought this morning … you forgot, even though I reminded you at Valentine's Day… and I was so angry for like ten seconds. Then I saw what you wrote in the paper…and you're right, the future only looks brighter," she sighed happily, snuggling closer to him and kissing his neck. "It's brighter because we're together," _The future isn't scary at all_.

"Did you save it?" Luke asked about the horoscope.

"Of course, I saved it…" Lorelai scoffed. "It's in my wallet right now… bringing me good luck…" as she nibbled on his earlobes.

Luke grinned to himself. Everything was on track and her words encouraged him to move forward with Lorelai. Luke was thinking about the future, and Lorelai seemed to be too. He was thinking of what Mia said about a certain safety deposit box and its contents.

Lorelai tapped his shoulder since he seemed to have gone off somewhere far away in his mind, "Hey, did you look into those baseball games? I still owe you those from Christmas."

"Yeah, I know…" Luke smiled again at Lorelai, at his bright future with Lorelai. "I think the Red Sox play the Yankees coming up… I'll check…"

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Rory saw Luke and Lorelai enter the square hand in hand, and the sight was enough to warm her even though she had a prime spot by a bon fire. "How was your date?" she asked them.

"Still on it," Lorelai said wryly holding up their clasped hands. "Where's Lane?"

"Her mom came and picked her up because it was past her bedtime," replied Rory, grabbing Luke's other hand.

Lorelai thanked Sookie for watching Rory and the family walked home, happy with the way the last year has been going.

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Lorelai had a staff meeting with Mia and her co-workers at the Inn and to accommodate most people's schedules they had this one it at night. Lorelai knew she didn't have to worry, she could trust Luke and Rory would be fine and would enjoy hanging out together; they made Curried Chicken with Raisins and Couscous for dinner and, of course, Rory wore her special apron.

Rory could tell Luke had something on his mind while they cooked. "Is everything okay?" she asked him.

"Umm Yeah." Finally, Luke decided to just get it over with, "Hey, let's sit for a second," as he turned off the burners on the range.

Rory stepped off her step stool, and sat at the table, Luke can and sat right next to her. "Rory, do you realize it's been like…well, a year since we've known each other."

"Well, yeah. You and mom just had your anniversary."

"A lot has changed in that one year, huh?"

"I guess," Rory shrugged. "For the better, I mean, I can tell mom is really happy. I know I am."

Luke nodded, appreciating her declaration, "Rory, when you were sick, remember when you asked me if I was going to marry your mom?"

Rory sat up with interest, "Yes?"

"Well, would be alright if I asked her now?"

"Yes, absolutely yes!"

Luke chuckled at her enthusiasm, "You sure?"

"YES! I've been hoping for that, well, since you moved in with us, that she'd wake up and you'd be married by Christmas, but sometimes, I guess, she needs a push in the right direction."

"Well, good, so… you'll help? I mean I've imaged asking the big question before… but now I know who it is specifically and well, I really want to make it special for your mom."

"I am totally your little helper!"

"Good," Luke was happy to have her on his side. "There is one other thing…" he said shyly, if he thought proposing marriage was tough and nerve wracking, the knots in his stomach doubled as he was about to pitch his hope to adopt Rory as well.

"Yeah?"

"Well, you remember asking me if I loved you…"

"Yes?"

"I told you to look at my actions and judge how much I cared about you, and you said that I loved you like you were my own daughter…"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I was thinking, if your mom and I get married," Luke took a deep breath, "what if, well, what if you where were my own?"

"Huh?" Rory cocked her head to the right, trying to see his point.

"Would you let me adopt you?"

Rory blinked a few times, "What?"

Being named as Jess' guardian had Luke thinking in legalese and thinking about logistics should anything happen to Lorelai. "Well, just because your mom and I get married, well, umm that is, if anything were to happen to your mom… it's possible that… we," he pointed between the two of them, "we may not stay together."

"What? Why not?"

"Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but well, your grandma doesn't like me too much."

"I've noticed," Rory said glumly. "That's just because they don't know you…" trying to make Luke feel better.

"Well, I've only met your grandma once and well, she seems really decided in her opinion of me, so, well by adopting you… just in case … you know, something happens, if I am legally one of your guardians, and well, that way we can stay together…no matter what. So, I was wondering if you'd be okay with that… you know with me… as your dad…officially."

Rory didn't have to think about it, and was almost tearful, "I'd be okay with it," she said quickly, "I've seen you that way for a while now."

"Good," Luke's nerves were eased a bit and he finally exhaled, "Well, let's get this dinner finished, and maybe you can explain you r mother's fascination with oompa loompas."

Rory stood up and hugged Luke as he still sat in his chair. He was her father figure; he wanted her to be his daughter. It was too good to be true; she'd have a real father. To Luke, Rory was a blessing, not a mistake, not a burden, not someone to be avoided. He was someone who would to think of her first, some not having to be reminded that she was around.

"Rory?" he didn't know why Rory was crying in his shoulder, he was hoping it was because she was happy. "Rory, you okay?"

"Mmm Hmm," she nodded only her head, clinging to her future father. "Just a little longer, please."

Luke tightened his hold to support her, to let her cry if she wanted, and to let Rory know he would always be around.

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A few days later, Rory was sitting on the porch steps thinking. It was very similar to a situation from a year ago, when she was watching Luke work on her mother's jeep not knowing what to say to the man. This time around, Luke and Rory didn't have any problems talking to each other; Rory was trying to help Luke come up with ideas while he worked on his truck. The same question on both their minds; when and where? "Well, what about the baseball games?" Rory suggested.

"What about them?"

"You could ask her there. I mean…I've seen people do that with the jumbotron at basketball games; why not baseball…"

"Your mom doesn't really like baseball."

"But she does like to be the center of attention…"

Luke arched his eyebrows and conceded that point, "The first game we are going to is like in May and besides, in front of all those people like that… not really my style…" Luke dismissed. "I know her she'll want something… special…and magical… and romantic…"

"You're romantic," Rory said encouragingly.

"Aw, I don't feel romantic. I only got her PJs for Christmas…"

"She loves those PJs and you got her that snowflake set too, hmmm," Rory scrunched and twisted her mouth again as if that would help her think better. "Well, her birthday is coming up…"

"Well, knowing your mom I'd still have to get her a real present too."

Rory shrugged, "You're keeping with the jewelry theme…"

Pondering her idea, Luke approved of the logic as he eventually nodded in agreement.

Suddenly Luke and Rory, thick as thieves, clammed up when they saw Lorelai pull up in her Jeep. "Okay! I am happy now, I have a found the perfect combination. An Easter dress that is me, that I will wear more than once, and Emily can't say anything bad about it…what's going on?"

"Nothing much," Luke wiped his hands on a rag.

Rory asked, "Mom? Are we going to tell grandma and grandpa Luke is living with us at Easter?" The direct question was enough a misdirection to stop Lorelai from asking Luke and Rory what they had been up to while she was gone.

Lorelai seemed fazed by the question, "Umm, well honey, I don't ...umm, I don't know…if that would go over real well."

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"Happy Easter Grandma!" Rory said enthusiastically, while carrying in some Tupperware.

"Welcome Rory," Emily said brightly. "What have you got there?"

"Luke and I made Easter Eggs for you and Grandpa."

"Why…" Emily was taken aback, "… thank you, Luke." She seemed almost annoyed that he was still in the picture. "Nice to see you again," she said primly, looking at his shoes as if he would traipse mud all through her home on her beautiful things.

"Like wise Mrs. Gilmore," Luke simply nodded. Luke's family always had an Easter breakfast and he had never heard of an Easter dinner before, _leave it to the rich_.

Rory continued, "Luke says you can never have enough Easter eggs, well not the yoke, because it's like all cholesterol, but the egg white is fine, it's actually the most perfect protein, and when in doubt, eat protein. Right Luke?" Rory was still trying to help the elder Gilmore's see what a wonderful find and influence Luke was for her and Lorelai.

"Right," Luke had to chuckle as Rory jabbered to put him at ease as they headed into the living room.

"We even used Luke's special recipe to avoid that gross greenish ring around the yoke."

Emily seemed to stare after her unusually lively granddaughter, puzzled by her behavior; Rory was so talkative and happy, as opposed to how she normally acted when she came to their house. As soon as Rory handed off the eggs to her grandmother, she linked hands with Luke to escort him into the living room. Emily then turned back to her daughter Lorelai.

"Mom," Lorelai politely greeted with a nod.

"Lorelai," Emily returned; and then… nothing, there was nothing else to say for the moment. Emily did gaze an appraising eye to Lorelai's dress, and Lorelai felt uncomfortable under the assessing glance. "Well, I suppose I should give these to Greta for the table," looking bitterly at the brightly colored eggs in her hand and went into the kitchen.

Lorelai entered the living room to see Rory disengaged her hand from Luke's to brightly greet her grandpa, "Hi grandpa," as Rory actually hugged Richard.

Richard was naturally taken off guard, but his heart was warmed by the affectionate greeting from his estranged granddaughter. "Well hello, Rory. You are certainly in a good mood."

Rory couldn't help herself. "Oh, you know, spring," Rory mused. "All the flowers and animals are out again and I got a new dress." Spring was also the season for romance and love. The real reason for her good mood was she knew Luke was going to propose to Lorelai any week now and she was going to help anyway she could. Her wish was finally being realized, by the end of the summer, they would truly be a family.

When Emily returned to the living room, she still had a discerning eye set on Lorelai, but listened as Rory explained Luke's egg boiling technique to Richard, "…So you remove the eggs from the boiling water, and immediately put them in cold water and ice. The green ring comes from some chemical reaction if boiled too long."

At the table, Emily didn't make much conversation as she meticulously cut her ham; and Lorelai could swear her mother kept alternating between staring at Lorelai's plate, keeping track of how much she was eating and staring at her stomach, _Oh God, she probably thinks I'm pregnant again and that is why Rory is so happy, for the love of Coffee._ However, Richard took advantage of Rory's good mood and asked her more about Stars Hollow and her interests.

"Here Grandpa, this egg has Luke's logo on it," pointing to an egg on top in the serving bowl, as she handed it to Richard.

"His logo?" Richard brought out his reading glasses to see the yellow coffee cup painted on the egg Rory offered him.

"Yeah, it matches my apron," Rory giggled, still thinking of Luke asking her mom to marry him.

"Apron?" Emily piped up, recalling a visit to the Independence inn years ago, when Lorelai was just a maid, and an apron was part of her uniform; _My granddaughter to following her mother's footsteps._

"Luke gave me an apron for Christmas."

"Really," Emily said snidely, "How thoughtful."

Lorelai defended the gift, "Yes, it was, since she loves to cook so much."

"He had it printed with his logo just for me," Rory said happily.

"Is he hoping you will someday follow in his footsteps? Be nothing more than a servant in a diner?"

"Mom!" Lorelai hissed.

Emily clammed up again and focused on her meal.

Fifteen minutes later, Emily ambushed Lorelai outside the bathroom, "How long do you plan to keep up with this lunacy?" Emily asked.

"Well, that depends, mother, what lunacy, there is so much in my life it's hard to keep track," Lorelai said dryly. _If you mean coming back here year after year… yeah, that is just insane_.

"Fine, you've made your point, you don't flit from man to man."

Lorelai tried to ignore her mother's assumptions to her love life the last ten years, "God, you didn't know me when I was living here and you certainly don't know me now…."

As usual, Emily wasn't even trying to listen to her daughter's point, "Now if we could get you a quality man who wasn't so decidedly beneath you. I know," Emily perked up. "How about I set you up? Many of my friends have sons, all of them are very handsome and about your age …"

"Yeah, mom that's because we all went to school together."

"…they are established, come from good families…"

"Mom, I am with Luke. We are established, we are a couple, and he does come from a good family."

"Please," Emily scoffed.

"Not a murderer or rapist among them…" Lorelai quipped.

"That you know of," Emily said cynically.

Learning about the late William Danes over the last year, Lorelai was offended on Luke's behalf, "Mom, he owns his own business…"

"A Diner."

"Yeah, a diner, that's how we met, I love coffee he brews it, and bam we are in love."

"In love? You don't know the meaning of the word?" Emily doubted.

"And you do?" Lorelai shot back, "Oh wait, yes of course, love of money…"

"How dare you? You doubt what I feel for your father?"

"Well, you doubt how I feel about Luke!"

"There is nothing wrong with money, Lorelai. It makes the world go round. It means security. I want to know that if you refuse to accept my help or live under my roof, that you and Rory are taken care of…"

"Well, ease your mind mother, Luke provides all that and then some!"

"With that hash joint? How could he possibly provide for you, not to mention Rory and all the expenses that come from raising a child…"

Lorelai crossed her arms, "Well, his hash joint is very popular; obviously you've never had one of his famous burgers. HA, that's a thought, you eating a burger. You'd probably cut it with a knife and fork! I'd pay money to see that!"

The shouting filtered through to the dining room, making Rory's happy mood diminish. Richard looked simply embarrassed and sympathetic to his unwanted guest. Luke sat quietly and seemed to have expected another blow out. Luke's heart swelled at Lorelai's quick defense of him and their relationship. He smiled at Rory, she offered a lame half smile in return, almost apologizing for Emily, but when Luke winked, reminding Rory of the planned proposal, she slyly hid her wide grin from her grandpa, trying not to let the secret get out too soon.

Luke was driving on the way home, wondering at the silence in the jeep. He realized that Easter ham had conked Rory out in the back seat and saw that Lorelai was staring out the window, reliving and weighing her mother's words again.

"Thank you," was all he said.

"For what?" Lorelai turned back to him.

"For all that you said to your mother…thanks."

"You heard all that," she winced, although she expected as much from the averted glances when she reentered the dining room.

"The Easter bunny heard all that, but thank you."

Lorelai took his right hand from the steering wheel; unable to speak but hoped he could see all she wanted to say in her actions and eyes. Luke smiled at her, brought her hand to his lips for a gentle kiss, and then set their joined hands back down the middle console before focusing his full attention on the road again. Lorelai just smiled at him and went back to looking out the window, thankful that Luke would always be there, no matter what Emily said or did.

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A/N: Harry from _Kiss Kiss Bang Bang_ just saw season 6 reruns, and his review of the season is: **

**Harry: This is every shade of wrong. **

**A/N: the word steadfast always reminds me of …**

**A glorious future lies before you - you, the destined hero, of a charming fairy tale come true. Behold - King Stephan's castle. And in yonder top most tower, dreaming of her true love, the Princess Aurora. But see the gracious whim of fate - why, 'tis the self-same peasant maid, who won the heart of our noble prince but yesterday. She is indeed, most wondrous fair. Gold of sunshine in her hair, lips that shame the red, red rose. In ageless sleep, she finds repose. The years roll by, but a hundred years to a steadfast heart are but a day. And now, the gates of a dungeon part, and our prince is free to go his way. Off he rides, on his noble steed, a valiant figure, straight and tall! To wake his love with "loves' first kiss"! And prove that "true love" conquers all! MUHAHAHAHAHA! **

**Anyone else love Maleficent as much as I do? **

**A/N: purple ribbons for season seven... even though I'm not watching...**

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"That was all God given talent..." why thank you NON POD Luke!  
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**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund... **


	44. Stuck In The Middle With You

**It's hard to believe a year ago I started this little adventure as a one shot, that's right I never intended things to go this far… but I'm glad I did!**

**In honor of my 27th Birthday, We give you four chapters!**

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. **

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: AW If you DON'T KNOW BY NOW! HURUMPH! **

**LUVZ: I miss you! **

**FEATURED BETA: Localizy, _WONDER TWIN POWERS ACTIVATE_**

**A/N: I have to say it now... I... Am...So ... DAMN... PROUD OF THIS CHAPTER  
worth the wait? for QUALITY FAN FICTION? you tell me... R/R**

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Chapter 44:  
Stuck In The Middle With You  
**

Since Easter Lorelai was a little down and diminished from her normal perky attitude. Lorelai's fight with her mother made her absolutely certain she wouldn't get an invitation to Thanksgiving this year, especially if Lorelai was still defiantly dating Luke come November. Emily just didn't understand how perfectly they fit together, how they complimented each other. It seemed pointless to even try and clue Emily in on how wonderful Luke really was since she was so decided in her opinion of the humble diner owner. When they left at Easter, neither Emily nor Lorelai made mention of seeing each other for Lorelai's upcoming birthday, usually another obligatory occasion.

Most everyone in Stars Hollow knew that the first week of April meant the approach of Lorelai's birthday. Usually Lorelai and Rory threw a grand party just like for Rory's birthday party but, once again, this year meant an adjustment was needed since Luke was in the picture.

Luke appreciated Lorelai's discreet family celebration of his birthday and he wanted Lorelai's to be just as special. He enlisted Rory and Mia's help and then, reluctantly, he approached Taylor as well.

"Well, we've never had a carnival just for someone's birthday before; usually women are busy running from their ages," Taylor observed snidely.

"Well, I don't need to tell you that Lorelai is different," Luke highlighted.

"You have a point," Taylor stroked his beard, "but I just don't want to start a precedent Luke. If I give into you and let you throw this huge party then everyone will be asking me for favors."

"Then don't call it Lorelai's birthday party, have a spring fair or something... just make sure it's on her birthday weekend. You could even recruit her help at the town meeting, but just don't bring up it's her birthday. Everyone else can know, but not Lorelai."

"Well, I must say I'm glad you are turning around for this young lady."

"Taylor please, stop while you are ahead, this year just has to be special…"

"Well, you know I may someday come to ask you for a favor," Taylor alluded.

"Who are you the Godfather?" Luke shot off.

"Actually I am, to my sister's son, Gene. I have pictures…"

"Forget it, Taylor," Luke said as he stalked off. Taylor decided to help Luke out and had his own suspicions about what was going to happen at the fair but kept them to himself until he had information from Patty that was more concrete.

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"Wow!" Lorelai took her glasses off and rubbed her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked.

In the living room at the Crap Shack, Lorelai was curled up on the couch, with papers and a clipboard in her lap, and she sighed, "Going to be a busy summer, that's all…" She felt a headache coming and tried to ward it off by pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Why?"

"Well, Taylor has this new fair thing cooked up for the middle of April and right before my birthday to boot. I swear that man isn't going to be happy until he has a festival for every month, not that my birthday isn't important to commemorate," she said jokingly.

Luke smiled, knowing all about the fair thing since it had been his idea. "I love that I don't have to go to town meetings anymore because you will tell me all the highlights," Luke leaned down to kiss her, then sat with her taking her feet in his lap to massage them since she had worn another pair of those ridiculous heels all day again.

"To top that off apparently my reputation as a wedding planner extraordinaire has gotten out…" Lorelai flipped through some papers she brought home from the Inn, "I don't think we've had so many weddings in a row before; every weekend in May and June is booked solid, we don't even have room for our usual tourist traffic because of all of the wedding guests. I've had to research other places for people to stay, and I hate turning people away. Luke, would you build an addition onto the Inn so I don't have to be a meanie head and turn people away anymore?"

Luke chuckled as he kept rubbing her feet, "I can't do it by myself."

"What? Rory said you used to do construction, didn't they teach you that thing where you go into the wilderness with a pocketknife and build a shopping mall?"

"No, I did houses, not hotels…"

"Inns," Lorelai corrected. "I don't even know if I can take the time off for our ball games… you said May right?"

"Yeah, the Yankess and Red Sox game."

"And that's in New York…" Lorelai groaned, unsure if she could get away now.

"Well, maybe I can do a few things around the Inn, fix up the potting shed or something to bargain with Mia to let you off."

"You're sweet."

"Hey, I just want my belated Christmas present."

Lorelai leaned her head back and closed her eyes and tried not to be too overwhelmed by her daunting summer.

"So," Luke tested, gauging her reaction, "a lot of weddings this summer?"

Lorelai sighed heavily and repeated, "A lot of weddings…ooo right there… that thing with your thumb…"

Luke repeated the rhythms on her foot as she sighed and finally started to calm down.

Lorelai was relaxing like putty in his hands and without realizing it Lorelai absently sang to herself, "For they say when you marry in June… you will always be a bride…"

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The Tuesday before Lorelai's birthday, Mia called Lorelai into her office. Lorelai never lost that sent to the principal's office feeling when someone in authority wanted to see her, even though she had grown so accustomed to it in her teens.

"Lorelai, how long have we known each other?" Mia posed.

"Well, over ten years."

"Good, now, I want you to know, that have the utmost faith in your abilities; however, I just realized how many weddings are popping up here over the summer and I want you to know that I don't expect you to handle it all yourself…"

Lorelai was a bit relieved, "Well, thank you, I have to admit I was a little overwhelmed when I saw the reservation book."

"Very good, I wanted to let you know that if you wanted to hire additional people to help that you could."

"Me? Hire? But Mia…"

"Aw, you are usually an excellent judge of character, no doubt a trait you get from Rory," Mia joked.

"But Mia, that's your job… I mean who am I to be hiring people?"

"You have been the backbone of this Inn for long enough, I have complete faith in you…"

"But…. whoever I … hire," it sounded so strange to Lorelai, "they are going to be on your pay roll…you will have to pay them…"

"Well, generally that is expected and required by law. So you better make sure that we get our money's worth and see that they are people you can get along with, have a certain chemistry with everyone else, and are fun to work with, after all, this summer we will need lots of good humor around."

"But when you hire someone are there are like… forms and background checks or something?"

"Aw, well I'll show you all about that, not to worry. Just consider this an expansion of your duties." Mia's tone changed, "There is another thing I would speak to you about…"

Lorelai reflexively sucked in air, hoping she wasn't flinching, "Yes?"

"There has been a terrible oversight on my part; it seems I forgot to get you a birthday present."

Lorelai let out her held breath,_ is that all?_ "Oh, Mia, please don't worry about it…it's not for…"

"How about a promotion instead?"

Lorelai's eyes were wide and fixed on Mia, "What?"

"I said I forgot your birthday present…"

"No, no, after that."

"Oh, well you've proven yourself responsible juggling a daughter and a job. I've known you longer than anyone else here, and as I said you are the backbone of this Inn, Lorelai. I want to make you Executive Manager of the Independence inn."

"Is this like an April's fool joke or something?"

Mia simply said, "No," ever the straight man, that is, lady.

Lorelai stood up, "Are you kidding?"

"Of course," and after a pause, "I would never forget your birthday…" and Mia pulled a gift from behind her desk.

Lorelai was confused, not knowing if she should open the gift or ask if she really just became executive manager of the Inn.

Lorelai sat down, afraid to ask, and when she opened the large box to find a vintage style blue coat.

"It's not exactly like mine… but I hope that it will keep your paws off mine."

"It's beautiful…thank you," then Lorelai saw the nameplate beneath the fabric, it read _Lorelai Gilmore, Executive Manager_. "Mia!"

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"Luke!" Lorelai had made it a habit of bursting into the diner when she was excited.

"What?" seeing how quickly Lorelai came in Luke automatically assumed the worst, "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, everything's fine! You won't believe it! Mia gave me a promotion."

"Wow, that's great!" Luke suddenly hugged her in the middle of the diner.

"Yeah, but you're not gonna guess how big a promotion. Since Carly decided she wants to be a stay at home mom, noble profession that that is, Mia wants me to be the executive manager! I'm gonna run the place now!"

"Lorelai that's terrific."

"I know," with a wide hyperactive giddy smile.

"But what about Mia?"

"Oh, she'll still own it and be around to help out, but since I've been around the longest, and am by far the most dedicated, she wants to pass the torch to me…" she said with mock humility.

"Wow… well we have to celebrate."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you, me, Rory… I'll make dinner, anything you want or we could go out, whatever you want."

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Lorelai had decided on homemade Luke feast to celebrate. Rory had been so happy for her mom, insisting that her and Luke would take care of everything, that she should lounge about relax and not lift a finger since she was now the boss. They had planned to watch _Working Girl_, but Rory was tuckered out in her room from cooking and from a "Danes food coma," which was a common result when Luke made wonderful food for the Gilmore girls. Her absence left the adults alone and to their own devices for entertainment.

Upstairs, Luke held Lorelai close after their more private celebration. Noticing the content look on Lorelai's face, Luke wondered if Lorelai was thinking the same thing he was, and had to ask, "So… how are you doing?"

"Good. Real good. Life is real, real good. God, how is it I never get tired of doing that with you?" stroking his arm again.

"Well, it's because I'm so irresistible."

"No kidding." Lorelai thought about the situation more, and sighed, "It's funny how all the pieces are finally falling into place." She grazed up and down his arm with her fingertips, "For the first time in my life I feel at peace," and she put her hand on her heart to illustrate her point.

"You're not gonna become a Buddhist are you?" he teased.

"No."

"Good, cause I like your long hair."

"Luke…"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

Luke smiled at her words, "I never get tired of hearing that…" and he kissed her earlobe.

"I know," she grinned.

It was a perfect moment. Sure there weren't violins playing in a romantic locale, but there was enchanting moonlight through the window, the woman he loved in his arms, and a thought he couldn't shake from his head, "Lorelai."

Lorelai was already dozing off exhausted from their celebration, "Hmm?"

_Come on Danes, you're gonna do this now? Right after you've had sex?_ "I know your birthday is coming up…"

"Mmm hmm"

"And well, I didn't know what to get you…" _This is so stupid, she's gonna say no…_

"Mm kay," she said just about ready to drift off to sleep.

"Lorelai?"

"Hmm?" with her distracted contented smile.

The words came out before Luke could stop himself, "Will you marry me?" Luke had intended to wait until right after the April Spring Fling Fair in the square and her actual birthday to propose, but Lorelai said it, all the pieces had fallen into place. It appeared that Lorelai had rubbed off on him and made Luke impulsive.

Lorelai pulled away from Luke as if she had been burned, her eyes wide and when she found her voice again, "That is not funny!"

"It wasn't supposed to be," he shrugged.

"Why would you joke about that?" Lorelai accused.

"Because it's not a joke."

"What are you and Mia in on the April fool jokes!" she stared at him indignantly waiting for a response, but then again, Luke was also waiting for a response. "Luke? No, no, you're not serious… you're asking me now? Because you didn't know what to get me for my birthday? Because I got a promotion?" Lorelai tried to keep from laughing,

"No, because I'm in love with you and at Easter you let your mother know that we were long term…"

"Well, what about Rory?"

"I'll adopt her," he shrugged.

"He says as if it was a natural conclusion," Lorelai said sarcastically to no one in particular.

"It is. We can be a family…a real family…"

"What?"

"You said it yourself in November, the two of you are my family. Her dad isn't around and I can be here, I want to be here… for both of you."

"Luke …" she was now getting scared, worried that maybe she dropped some sort of unconscious, unintentional clue to Luke that this is what she expected of him, but he's been talking this way for months… and obviously he had everything thought out, "I'm not asking you to do this…"

"I know, I'm asking because I want to and I'm still waiting for an answer."

She started to try and laugh it off again, "It's too soon, you're not serious," still unable to believe the situation was really happening, though she knew in her heart that question must have been on Luke's mind everyday since last year.

Like a magician, Luke pulled out a small velvet box out of nowhere, "Dead serious."

Lorelai's wide eyes locked on the small box in his hand, "What is that?" loving the sight of it, but fearing it the same time.

"Open it," Luke handed her the small box.

For the first time, Lorelai did as she was told, and opened the box and her breath caught in her chest.

Smiling at her reaction, Luke explained, "It was my mother's".

"Luke, you can't give me your mother's ring."

"I'm only giving it to you if you say yes."

Lorelai hesitated for a few moments, overwhelmed with thoughts and emotions.

"Lorelai, did you ever think that this might not be about you, that this is about what I want. I want you and Rory. I want us to be a real family."

Lorelai's gaze was fixed on the ring, "Can I think about it …" then she turned to him, "please, this isn't a rejection but … isn't this … too soon? I mean, we only known each other what a year? I mean, are we ready for this?"

"You're the one who said we should move in? Were we ready for that?"

"But you're talking about marriage and adoption? That's really permanent stuff..."

"Till death do us part," Luke tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Luke, do you even know how long adoptions take? I mean …you'd be taking us on full time. That is a lot of responsibility… we can be a handful …"

"Don't I know it," he stated frankly.

"Can I, please, just ask Rory what she thinks... we've always had a democracy, and we need to vote if we … well, I guess you already are in the club house full time."

After a moment, Luke allowed, "Talk to Rory, that's fair," knowing he already had Rory on his side, "then you can have this when you say 'yes'." He was about to take the box away, but Lorelai held it close, nearly out of his reach, not wanting to let go of her new treasure.

"Wait, can I show it to Rory… it may help your case," she smiled lamely.

Luke smiled at her. "You can have it for 24 hours, after that only when you say yes."

"Deal," She smiled.

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"How do I know he's not pulling a Jerry McGuire and not marrying me to get to my kid," Lorelai slapped her hands to her sides as she finished a rant about her situation.

"You don't give a girl a ring like that to get to a kid. You give the kid the ring." Sookie was exasperated with Lorelai dragging her on this little errand, but she was excited at the possibilities if things went the way she hoped. "You are seriously taking it to an appraiser? Like Luke is some con artist?"

"No, I just, I don't know. It's just if I say yes, and we get married it's bound to come up if I tell my parents."

"If you tell your parents? Like that's an option, you just won't tell them you're getting married," Sookie said sarcastically.

"_Maybe_ getting married. I'm not exactly comfortable with them knowing what's going on with me… I mean I was mortified at 16 when they found out I had sex…"

"Only because you were having a baby…"

"Well…that is why I've had kept the Hartford life so separate all these years …I mean…after the Christmas fiasco."

"But to not even invite them? Your own parents should come to your wedding, you are their only daughter and, God willing, it's the only wedding you will ever have…"

"My _maybe_ wedding, you don't know my parents and whose side are you on?" Lorelai admonished. "Maybe I could tell them that we broke up and Luke could just stay home for those holiday dinners... Lucky dog."

"Yeah, because that scenario went over so well at Thanksgiving," _See she's already trying to hide him… she's thinking like they are already married._ "Lorelai?"

"What?"

"You're gonna say yes." Sookie confirmed, having seen the pair together for months.

"No, I'm not," realizing she didn't want to swear off marrying Luke forever. "That is, not right now, as in, I haven't made up my mind."

Sookie nodded knowingly, "You are going to say 'yes'."

"Sook, I haven't even talked to Rory."

"She loves Luke and he is great with her. I mean the bookshelves, the chicken pox, the camp out in the living room, the cracked window; he's even handled the crying after sappy movies and scrapped knees. Need I go on?"

"Oh God, what if we have kids? How am I going to explain that to my parents at the holiday dinners."

"Only wear empire waists?"

"How Shakespearian…well, that does fit with my family."

Sookie mused, "Get pregnant in January, maybe you won't show at Easter or your mother will just tell you that you are fat, the kid is out before Thanksgiving"

"So all our kids are going to have October birthdays?"

"See you are talking about having kids with him, you are SO gonna say yes."

"I haven't decided," Lorelai dismissed again.

"Hell, I'd say yes just for that ring."

"It is pretty isn't it? And vintage since it was his mothers," they went to a jeweler in Hartford as to avoid the speculation and rumor mill of Stars Hollow. "Okay, okay, let's get this over with."

"Why are we here again?"

"Because… IF I say yes and IF I tell my parents they are going to want to see a certificate of authenticity to know Luke isn't some sort of con artist."

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Lorelai gulped before she entered her daughter's room. Lorelai hated change, and knew how Rory reacted when Lorelai said she was dating, even though Rory loved Luke, Lorelai really didn't know if Rory was ready for this big of a change. "Rory … honey, I need to talk to you."

Rory put down the copy of the Princess Bride that Luke had given her, and said, "Okay, shoot."

"Well, you know Luke?"

"Tall guy, baseball hat, and flannel. I'm familiar with him…" Rory chuckled.

"And he's around a lot."

"Well, yeah he lives here," Rory giggled flatly at her mother's rambling.

"And he's a really great guy…don't you think?"

"Yeah," Rory agreed.

"Well, what if Luke… became a part of our family unit?"

"He already is," Rory thought of how he was living with them, the dark day, and Luke's initiation into the Gilmore dinners in Hartford.

"Well, I know that. I just meant make it more …official…legal and official."

"What do you mean?" Rory smiled an almost devious grin.

"Well, Luke asked me to … marry him."

"He did? What did you say?" Rory seemed rather excited and anxious for the answer that would no doubt change her world.

Surprised by how her daughter was on the edge of her seat, "Well nothing yet … I told him I wanted to think about it." Lorelai didn't want to go around making decisions willy nilly for the Gilmore girls without consulting Rory, after all she had started dating Luke without telling Rory and Lorelai didn't want Rory to be surprised or upset again.

"You didn't say yes?" Rory deflated with instant disappointment.

"Well, no… I haven't decided what to say…"

"You just left him hanging!" Rory exclaimed, exasperated, unable to believe how cruel her mother was being with Luke's heart.

"I wanted to ask you first."

"Sweet but totally unnecessary. Mom, why do you think he asked you?"

"Well, he said he loved me and loved you so much and he … wants to always be there for us…"

"No, no mom why do you think he asked you, now?"

"What?" Lorelai was lost on her daughter's point.

"To put it formally… Luke … sort of asked me for your hand in marriage," Rory shrugged.

"He what?"

"And I told him yes, he showed me the ring too…" Rory nodded enthusiastically.

"He asked _you_ first?"

"Yeah, he wanted to make sure I was okay with it. Frankly, I've been okay with it since last summer after my chicken pox."

"He asked you _first_?" Lorelai didn't know whether to be mad at the diner man or love him more. "When?"

"About a month ago, he was waiting for the right moment. I guess he found it since he asked you…"

"He asked _you_ first?" Lorelai repeated.

"We have established that… let's move on to _your _response," Rory pointed out.

"You think I should say yes?"

"Well, I think you love him, and he loves you, and I love him, so yeah."

"Rory this isn't a joke. This is a serious life altering… thing…"

"How life altering can it be when he already lives here. You two already have a verbal agreement to forsake all others… now you two will just tell the State of Connecticut and the rest of the country you will forsake all others."

"Rory… being married is more than just being faithful… it's hard work… I mean granted I've never been married, but seeing what my parents went through when I was a teenager I'm sure it's not a picnic every day."

"Mom, you and Luke already work at it… I mean with the dark day, the holidays, and how you two lovingly fight… it's as if you are already married. "

Lorelai seemed to smile at that, "You think?"

Rory continued, "Really mom, he's great, and you are the happiest when you are with him. Even when you fight with him you are happy."

"Yeah,"_ that's because I look forward to the making up_. Lorelai didn't know how to approach her next concern, "He wants to … adopt you, you know…"

Rory's excitement faded a shade, and she quietly admitted, "Yeah, I know... We talked about that too."

"Are you okay with that?"

Rory sighed, "When was the last time we heard from Dad?"

"I don't know, last fall?"

"Well, there is your answer… and he's let me down again… so fine…I don't need him."

"Rory," Lorelai began, not wanting her daughter to be so black and white about the relationship, and also feeling bad that Chris couldn't get himself together enough to pick up a phone and call his kid.

"Mom, as much as … as it breaks my heart to give up on Dad, I think Luke is just the man to pick up the pieces," Rory punctuated with a smile. "Mom, Luke offered, he wants to be a father. He wants me to be his daughter. Luke puts us first, when has Dad ever put us first?"

Lorelai had to concede the point.

"Besides, you are always going on and on about what a great kid I am."

"Well you are," Lorelai mimicked Rory's teasing tone. "You're very low maintenance."

"And don't you think I deserve a live in male role model."

"Yeah, you do but you have that already… Luke lives here…and…"

"Luke makes you happy, he makes me happy; I say the only thing keeping us from being a real family is a few stray pieces of paper. Make it all official and get married!" Rory encouraged.

"So…" Lorelai wanted to be sure, "I'm getting married?" It sounded so strange being so self reliant all these years.

"You're getting married," Rory repeated and the two giggled and hugged and cried, both wanting to tell Luke right away.

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They waited until the next day to tell Luke. On their way to the diner both Gilmores wore guilty grins, only the two of them knowing the juiciest tidbit of gossip that most of Stars Hollow would sell their souls for since Luke and Lorelai's relationship first started dating and went public.

When they entered the diner, they were careful not to make a big deal that they were sitting at the counter, and Rory, suppressed her grin, as she watched her mother talk to Luke.

"Hey," Luke greeted the girls and habitually placing a mug in front of Lorelai. He seemed a little distracted at that moment with other customers, which would only make Lorelai strive harder for his attention, especially since she had made a decision on his long held back question.

"Hey, yourself," Lorelai brushed back her hair, as she tried to let her left hand get his attention, but Luke, being a guy, was a little slow.

Luke had been a nervous wreck since he entrusted Lorelai with the ring, but he felt he had waited long enough to ask her. With everything over the last year, the pregnancy scare of July, his dark day, Christmas with her parents, he was amazed he had waited so long and hadn't kidnapped her to Vegas with Rory as a witness. Luke was determined not to show his hand or to pressure Lorelai in any way in front of his customers, especially not in front of Rory. Luke didn't know if the girls had their chance to talk yet, even though he knew he had Rory's Blessing, maybe Lorelai was able to convince her daughter to take it back when Rory pro/con listed it for her mother.

Yesterday was the day Lorelai was _supposed_ to give him back the ring if she was going to say no, though frankly he would give her as long as it took for the answer to come back yes. Lorelai never even mentioned the ring yesterday, not even when they went to bed. It had taken her 4 months to say she loved him aloud, then for his birthday she had asked him to move in, if anything she should have expected a proposal since he had been so open and honest with her since their very first date. Luke had to force himself to play it cool and keeping busy with his business.

Then, while he was picking up plates from the pass through, he suddenly saw "it" on her finger as she casually held her mug up with both hands, as high as her elbows would prop up the mug to her mouth. Like an idiot, he froze with a plate in each hand and asked Lorelai, "You're … wearing it?"

Playing dumb Lorelai acted absent minded about the question, like she had forgotten about the symbolic ring on her finger, "Oh, yeah, funny story," Lorelai put down the mug he had given her. "Actually … I tried it on and the darn thing is now stuck," wiggling the newly adorned finger. "So, in a manner of speaking, I guess… you're stuck with me…" she shrugged, but her eyes said a silent 'I love you'.

"Gladly…" and in one of those rare moments, Luke forgot that he was in front of the town, in the middle of his diner. He tossed the plates down quickly on the counter, reached for her and kissed Lorelai, his fiancée, across the counter.

The sentiment was interrupted by a scratchy "Oh My God!" exclaimed somewhere from Lorelai's left. Lorelai pulled away from Luke to see an almost crazed look in Babette's eyes, as they were fixed on the couple kissing at the counter; more specifically on Lorelai's shiny left hand that had found its way to Luke's right cheek.

Babette immediately left Morey alone with his breakfast so she could make her way out of the diner in the direction of Miss Patty's Dance Studio, clutching her boobs as she ran out the door, "Patty, Patty, PATTY!"

"Well, that solves that problem," Lorelai said dryly.

When Babette made her dramatic exit, Rory had run around the counter to give Luke a hug, wanting to be apart of the moment he got his answer, "You're stuck with both of us, now," she exclaimed.

Lorelai shook her head; "Using my daughter to get me to say yes, very sly!" she admonished her fiancé.

**777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you NON POD Luke!  
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**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund... **


	45. Whatever It Takes

**It's hard to believe a year ago I started this little adventure as a one shot, that's right I never intended things to go this far… but I'm glad I did!**

**In honor of my 27th Birthday, We give you four chapters!**

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. **

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: AW If you DON'T KNOW BY NOW! HURUMPH! **

**LUVZ: Localizy looked at Gilmoregirl1979, "Why so melancholy?"**

Gilmoregirl1979 sighed and said, "I was just thinking about LuvzAFunEthing, where she is, who she is with, what is she thinking, is she thinking of me, and if she will ever return one day…"

Thinking of you! Missing you!

**FEATURED BETA: Localizy, _WONDER TWIN POWERS ACTIVATE_**

**A/N: I have to say it now... I... Am...So ... DAMN... PROUD OF THIS CHAPTER  
worth the wait? for QUALITY FAN FICTION? you tell me... R/R**

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**Chapter 45  
Whatever It Takes  
**

Within the hour, word had spread about Lorelai and Luke's engagement. It didn't matter where they went; be it at the video store or grocery store, Klump Street or Peach Street everyone was bursting with warm wishes for the happy couple, hoping the whispered rumors were true.

At the Spring Fling Fair, everyone was a buzz with the rumors. Did Babette really see what she thought she saw? Lorelai and Luke confirmed with an announcement at the gazebo during the festivities. With confirmation of the engagement news, everyone was offering to pitch in where and when they could for the big day. Taylor even offered a further discount on any clearance decorations they wanted, however, the happy couple declined that particular offer.

In the following weeks Lorelai was happily bombarded with questions from the townsfolk. She didn't seem to mind answering them on her way to work, while she was at the diner, or while she was picking up her dry cleaning. She was not even bothered when inquisitive Miss Patty and cunning Taylor Doose ambushed her at Bootsy's newsstand, "So dear," Patty casually started, "have you and Luke settled on a date?" Taylor stood nearby, pretending to be interested in a wrestling magazine.

"Soon," Lorelai sighed as she looked at bridal magazine selection.

"Soon?" Patty seemed to gasp in horror, "That's all you have?"

"Yup," Lorelai nodded.

Patty asked what was on the tips of everyone's tongues since the engagement was announced, hoping Lorelai would level with her, "Are you pregnant?"

"What? No!"

"Then why the rush?" Taylor jumped in the questioning, trying to decide if Lorelai was telling the truth.

"Well, we… we just don't want to have to wait," Lorelai shrugged.

Patty commented dryly, "Lorelai? Do you really think anyone in town believes the two of you _waited_? I mean you are living with the man…a girl can only take so much temptation," Patty said with years of experience.

"Not that kind of wait!" Lorelai defended.

"Well, then why not set a date already! Believe me, I'm all for a short engagement, but if you are planning a summer wedding people may need to adjust their vacation plans to attend, " Patty pleaded.

"Well, it's not that simple." Lorelai though it was sweet that the townsfolk wanted to be present for the big day that they would adjust their schedules, the question of when the wedding would be was the only question Lorelai hated. "There are certain things that need to fall into place first," Lorelai tried to be vague.

"I beg your pardon, dear, but well, he doesn't exactly have family to wait on, and well yours live right in Hartford." Then Patty had a horrible thought, "You two aren't going to elope are you?"

"Elope!" Taylor was outraged by the suggestion, "You cannot possibly elope. After all you owe it to the town, we've watched your little love story practically from the beginning and I will not have you deprive the town of a major event like this, Lorelai. Oh we could get a famous photographer that would highlight Stars Hollow as a tourist hub, maybe get it put in Yankee magazine…"

"Please," Lorelai tried to settle the gossips protests. "I just won the fight about actually having a public wedding so we are definitely having a real wedding, for us and for the town…"

"Alright, I just hope that it is sooner rather than later because everyone is going to be on pins and needles wanting to know what is going to happen."

_You guys are on pins and needles, what about us? _"I know. we have a few hoops we need to jump through first, telling my parents first of all." Taylor and Patty groaned in unison, completely understanding the estranged relationship, the finesse the task would require, and almost dreading the delay that would have on the happy event. "Also I have to hire event coordinators to take over the weddings at the Inn, so I can focus on planning my own, so as soon as things are decided you will be the first to know, I promise!"

No, even after that conversation Lorelai didn't mind the questions at all; she was getting married to a wonderful man she was in love with and could start planning her dream wedding, a wedding that represented her.

The truth was Lorelai and Luke's hoops was the planned adoption of Rory and they had not let the town in on that little detail yet. They had only just started to research into the adoption process and had spent a lot of time getting Luke's name on the deed to the house, establishing joint checking accounts, informing everyone in the house where the coupon drawer was, and other legally binding type things.

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Luke admittedly hated lawyers, but if they could some how help him to adopt Rory as his own he would hop on one leg while patting his head and rubbing his stomach if they told him to. Christopher had no parental guardian ship, when he left he also left any claims to custody of Rory. Since Lorelai was sole legal guardian of Rory, our happy couple hoped that would make their adoption process easier.

They were actually a nice set of guys, Nicely and Slaughter, Family Law. Lorelai had picked them out of the phone book because she liked their names. "Is that like good lawyer, bad lawyer? Instead of good cop, bad cop," she had quipped on the first meeting with Michael Nicely and Paul Slaughter.

"Pleasure to meet you Miss Gilmore, Mr. Danes warned us about your quick wit over our phone conversation," Mr. Nicely greeted.

"Aw please I had that one lined up for days," she waved off, but always ready to receive a compliment.

Mr. Slaughter offered both new clients his hand as well, "Mr. Danes explained that he wanted to adopt your daughter."

"Please, call me Luke," he chimed in.

"As long as you call me Mike," Michael nodded.

"Paul," Mr. Slaughter pointed to himself, then turned to Lorelai, "May I assume that we can call you Lorelai?"

"Please call me Queen of the Known Universe." Luke cleared his throat, silently begging his fiancée to take this seriously, "But uh, Lorelai is fine, Miss Gilmore makes me think I'm at my mother's."

"Alright then, so you two are getting married? Congratulations," Paul Slaughter wished, who was a lot nicer than his name.

"Thank you," Lorelai smiled, as she sat down with Luke on the homey couch they had in their office.

Mike dove right in, "Okay, adoption." He started flipping through the notes from his initial phone conversation with Luke. "Well, we understand you were quite young when you had your daughter."

"Umm, yeah 16," Lorelai said a little embarrassed at how that one fact haunted her where ever she went, yet that singular event defined her as a person for the whole of her life.

"Any idea where the father is?" Mike took out a pen to add to his notebook.

Lorelai fielded that one, "Well, almost right after Rory was born, Christopher settled in California."

"So not much involvement, needless to say," Paul also started writing down some notes from his desk.

"Well, no, he was all the way on the other side of the country." Lorelai had to laugh at the obvious, "He never even changed a diaper."

"Leaving you to fend for yourself and Rory, at the age of 16," Mike filled in as he sat on his own desk near the couch.

The phrase offended Lorelai and she wondered if she picked the right men for the job; _maybe next time you need a lawyer, go by more than their names_. Lorelai gently defended herself, "Look, I don't want to be portrayed as some sort of victim here. I did live with my parents for a year, I could have gone on, just sitting around eating bon-bons and let my parents pay for a nanny or something, but I didn't. I stepped up to really be a parent and Christopher didn't, simple as that. I moved out, I earned all my own money, found my own place, never took a hand out…"

"Even though you are from a wealthy family in Hartford," Mike asked, looking up from his notes from his previous conversation with Luke.

"What does that have to do with it," Lorelai snapped, again her lineage seemed to be the most important thing to people in Hartford; where she came from and not who she was as a person. "I just want Luke to be Rory's father if anything happens to me."

Luke took her hand to rein her in, "Lorelai."

Lorelai couldn't help feeling like she was being interrogated, after all she was in the presence of lawyers and she had watched too many law dramas.

"Lorelai, we perfectly understand," Paul Slaughter said gently, "and we want the same thing. Luke gave us an idea of what a terrific mom you are. We just need to ask these questions to get a basis of your character, the situation, and how Christopher left things. How about we start with Christopher? Just give us a picture of his character back then and what you know now."

Lorelai took a deep breath, knowing she'd have to drudge her past for strangers, a judge, and an entire courtroom like on TV. "Well, he just was sort of …sporadic. He keeps moving around a lot. He kept giving us numbers that would go dead 2 months later. Rory and I tried to stay in touch, tried to visit but it was always us going to some neutral place in Hartford if he was in town ducking his parents. There was one time at a rest stop where he left us waiting for three hours with bikers and truckers hitting on me in front of Rory, who was 5 at the time."

"Any recent contact?"

"Well, last we heard of him was in September, he sent a post card to Rory, making all the same old promises, '_I'm better now, I miss my girl, call me a any time, I promise to stay in touch,' _and like always, he never followed through. Rory had one phone conversation with him and he promised to call again, but there was nothing. Rory had wanted to give him another chance mostly because Luke convinced her too…"

"Luke convinced her?" Mike found that detail interesting.

"Yeah," a softer speaking Lorelai looked at Luke, who seemed content to let her do the talking while she spoke of Christopher and that situation back in September. "Luke lost his father years ago so he gave Rory a pep talk and some perspective about… well, Dads and how he wished he could talk to his dad again and that at least Christopher was alive and reaching out…"

"But nothing came of that contact?" Mike figured since they were having this meeting.

"Well, Rory called the number herself, had the one phone conversation, then she left messages, wrote letters, all with no response… we haven't tried the number again." Lorelai reached into her purse and handed the postcard to Mike, since he was closest. "She took it off her bulletin board around Thanksgiving." Mike appraised it for a moment before handing off to Paul for a look. Lorelai nudged Luke and smiled at him, both realizing the truth was the Dark day had united the family together. "And by her birthday in October, Rory said she had given up on Christopher again, and wanted to focus on her relationship with Luke. We wanted to make it up to her so we threw her the best party. Her birthday is around Halloween, so it was a costume party…even Luke dressed up."

Luke explained, "I'm not really one for costumes."

"Okay, so any contact with the grandparents, the uh," Mike looked at his notes again, "Haydens."

"Well, back when I was pregnant, you know at 16, umm well they weren't really interested in Rory."

"Why not?" Mike asked. "She's their first granddaughter. I thought blood was all that mattered to the upper crust."

"Well, they weren't _interested_," Lorelai repeated.

"Care to elaborate."

Lorelai took a deep breath, "They wanted me to… get rid of her…you know…" she worded delicately; thankful Rory had stayed home from this particular meeting.

"Ah," Mike said, with a clear understanding that the Haydens would pose no opposition, "and you didn't want that."

"Well, no! I wasn't going to let them decide if my baby had a right to be around or not. Just because she somehow inadvertently foiled their plans for Christopher and Princeton doesn't give them the right to chose anything. My parents wanted us to get married but I knew we were too young for that and we wouldn't have made it anyway… Christopher wasn't the love of my life, Luke is."

"And on that note, if you don't mind the segue," Paul smiled. "Lorelai, these questions may seem a little forward, but keep in mind that they are things that could be brought up by Christopher's attorney and remember that we are on your side…"

"Wait, what? Lawyer?" Lorelai sat at attention. "Why would Christopher have a lawyer?"

"Well, if he wants to contest custody," Mike explained.

"You mean you are going to contact him? Just offer him custody? A man who has proven time and again that he doesn't care that family means nothing to him!"

"No, we are going to find him, see if he has any interest, and get him to sign the his rights as a father away…"

"Why? Isn't his lack of involvement enough?"

"Well, it doesn't work that way, but that does help your case. We still have to show the judge that we made every effort to locate Christopher, inform him of the evolving family situation, and let him say that he truly has no interest in being a father. Also, we can see what he's been up to while he's been shirking on his fatherly right."

"Ten years of ignoring us isn't enough?" Lorelai barked. "You want him to say to Rory's face that he doesn't have any interest in her? Good plan!" she said sarcastically.

"But there have been visits and phone calls and post cards; he was expressing some interest," Mike pointed out.

"All that came to nothing! Luke has spent more time with Rory in the last year than Christopher has in her whole life!"

Paul stood up from his desk, "Lorelai please, we just need to have a full picture, the whole story. How about you describe your relationship between you and Luke? How did you two meet?"

Lorelai reluctantly started, but welcomed the happier subject; "Well, I'm a huge coffee fiend and well Luke runs the diner in our town with the absolute best coffee in the world…"

"Ah, the way to the heart is through the stomach," Paul smiled.

Lorelai briefly smiled again, "That's our little joke."

Luke chimed in now since the conversation had turned more to his experience, "Yeah, only in her case it's a cast iron stomach."

Lorelai continued, "Well, umm we knew each other about well a month and we were, you know, friendly and well flirting whenever I came in…"

"You were flirting," Luke corrected.

"You started it," Lorelai argued back

"I told you to sit down and shut up because you were being annoying… you were the one who brought up the dance of the seven veils…"

"That was the second time I came in and you had a very responsive blush to the comments."

"I'm a guy, we don't blush, we… tinge."

"Well, you were tinging 10 shades of red."

Mike and Paul exchanged a look and seemed to understand how their relationship sparked from the simple example of their banter and just why they were getting married.

"Anyway," Lorelai moved on. "We started dating in March," she surmised.

"And how long before…" now Paul seemed to tinge.

"Before …what?" Lorelai asked.

Mike took over, "Before you two became …intimate."

Lorelai had that overwhelmed airing her dirty lingerie feeling again, "Oh well, we waited …a while," Lorelai cleared her throat nervously.

"Lorelai!" Luke whispered.

"Luke," she looked at him sternly.

"Is there a problem?" Mike asked sensing a conflicting story.

"It was our second date," Luke confessed.

"Luke!" Lorelai hissed.

"I invited her over to my place and made her dinner and well things…progressed from there…" Luke glossed over.

Lorelai leaned back on the couch with her arms crossed, shy and slightly humiliated.

"Lorelai, we have to be honest," Luke defended.

"Second date and you spent the night," Mike said. "How did Rory react to that?"

"I didn't spend the night," Lorelai said bitingly. "When we started dating I didn't exactly tell her what was going on."

"You didn't tell her?" Mike found that interesting.

"Well, see Luke didn't know about Rory and Rory didn't know about Luke. I was kind of afraid of how they would, you know, react to each other."

Paul turned to Luke, "You didn't know she had a daughter when you started dating?"

"Well, how often do you ask a woman you're seeing, 'So do you have any kids'?"

"And in the month before you dated… nothing? Not a mention of Rory at all?"

Luke shrugged, "It never came up."

"So when did you find out?" Mike crossed his arms with interest.

Luke told his point of view, "Well, I was going to talk to Lorelai about our next date, I saw her in the square, thought 'hey convenient', and I saw her with this little girl. I thought she was a niece or a cousin. But then Rory called Lorelai mom…"

"And how did you feel?" Paul led on for Luke to explain further.

"Well, of course I was surprised, but after I thought about it everything made sense."

"What made sense?"

"Well, her not being able to spend the night with me, her not telling me where she lived, not coming to the town meetings when she knew I would be looking for her or that I would see her there with Rory. I mean, it's not like I had a big problem with kids, but I guess, I wish she had told me straight out… but if she had… who knows, we might not have gotten together…" In retrospect, who knew what would have happened had Lorelai been honest and forthright about that one little detail; everything might have been different.

Lorelai's protective behavior towards Rory when she started dating Luke had Mike concerned about their case and how Lorelai could come across to the judge once Christopher's possible lawyer heard about it ,so he asked Lorelai, "Have you dated much?"

"What?" Lorelai's head snapped up.

"With Rory? As a single mom…" he alluded.

"No, I didn't date much."

"How many men have you …"

"Mike," Paul Slaughter admonished his law partner for his lack of tact. "Lorelai, just tell us why you want Luke legally named as Rory's guardian?"

"Well, he's Luke. I love him and Rory loves him, together we've made a family. I mean I didn't think it possible because, well, me and Rory have always been together, just the two of us. It's just I didn't think we'd need anyone else, but with Luke…" Lorelai looked at her fiancé like he she would find the answer written on his face. "I don't know they just have this unique bond… I mean, as close as I am with Rory, that is as close as she is with Luke, as if he was her real father, like he was there the whole time. I mean we bond over different things; we have clothes and movies, they have their cooking projects. Luke even taught her how to fish as I am not the outdoorsy type… but no matter what they do she has fun with him. She loves him."

"When would Rory be available to interview?"

"Well, she's in school now."

"Well, education is first, of course. So how about Saturday?"

"Sure, come by the house if you want, you can see our …little family in action if that's what it takes," Luke said.

Before Lorelai and Luke left she turned back to Mike, "Hey, Mike."

"Yes?"

"To answer your question, it's two. I've only been with two men. Christopher and Luke," she shrugged, "See you Saturday."

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Luke came into their bedroom and saw Lorelai sulking on her side of the bed. She was already tucked in under the covers, but her thoughts were a million miles away. He crawled in behind her and huddled up close kissing her neck and shoulders. "I think today went well."

"Mmmm," was all Lorelai offered twirling a strand of hair nervously.

"They are nice guys, least I thought so over the phone."

"Yeah, real nice," she said sardonically.

"What? They liked your good cop, bad cop joke."

"Yeah, how is it that Slaughter was more of a gentleman than Nicely! Luke, why do people always assume single moms are sluts. My mother, these lawyers…"

Luke thought it best not to answer and just let the rant run its natural course.

"Even you were surprised when I told you that I had only been with one other man."

"Lorelai, they were just getting information."

"Yeah, yeah…" she dismissed.

"Come on, is that what's really bothering you?"

"No," she admitted.

"Well what then?"

"It's just… Christopher"

"What?"

"Well, this whole Christopher angle stinks! He seemed gone for good and now they are just inviting him back in. They are talking about PIs tailing him and looking into his credit history like he's a criminal. What if they find him? What if he comes back? What if he wants visitation just because we are trying to make you her father? What if my getting married is the thing that will make him want to finally stake his claim when I'm not even in love with him or want anything to do with him?"

"Lorelai…"

"What if he contests custody and I have to deal with sending my little girl on a plane to see him wherever he is now because it's his right as a father, the state decrees."

"Lorelai, what if Christopher is already married, huh? What if that's the reason he's been out of touch… he doesn't want his wife to know…"

Lorelai almost laughed at the thought, with how quickly Christopher ran from commitment, "But they are talking about background checks and looking into police records. Christopher has never been arrested, well, not that I know of…although there was the time he crashed his Porsche…"

"Lorelai I'm going through the same thing, they are running a background check on me too."

"Yeah because you are such a con artist," she rolled her eyes.

"Lorelai everything will be fine. They will see the three of us together, that I haven't even been out of the state, and all the records of the diner and stuff." Even with his reassurances Lorelai still seemed pouty. "I know what you need," Luke said knowingly, and no, it wasn't anything dirty.

**77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you NON POD Luke!  
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**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund... **


	46. Game, Set, Match

**It's hard to believe a year ago I started this little adventure as a one shot, that's right I never intended things to go this far… but I'm glad I did!**

**In honor of my 27th Birthday, We give you four chapters!**

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. **

**R/R: Yes, please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: AW If you DON'T KNOW BY NOW! HURUMPH! **

**LUVZ: I MISS YOU MOST OF ALL SCARECROW!**

**FEATURED BETA: Localizy, _WONDER TWIN POWERS ACTIVATE_**

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**Chapter 46:  
Game, Set, Match**

Richard Gilmore loved to shower his wife with gifts, just to give her a sign of his affection, worthy gifts for her gracing his life for nearly 30 years.

Richard was a patient man, but he also knew that one must seize an opportunity when it presents itself. For example, he had been browsing through a jewelry store in Hartford last week and had found the perfect anniversary and birthday presents for his wife, all at the same time. He hadn't been looking for them, they had found him. Granted Emily's birthday wasn't for months, but that didn't mean he couldn't pick them up, add them to their personal articles insurance policy, and then give them to her on the proper dates, as a gentleman always plans ahead. Richard worked hard to provide such luxuries for his wife and he wanted to give her all that she deserved and more.

He was eying some other pieces for his mother as he waited for the person assisting him to retrieve his items. "Here we are, sir," the man returned, only instead of two necklace boxes, the man brought a singe ring box.

"I think there has been some mistake," Richard pointed out. "Unless we are suddenly in the future and you've captured my wife's necklaces in pill sized capsules and expect me to reanimate them by simply adding water."

The sales attendant looked at the slip that had been associated with the ring box, "Pardon my error, the name on this item is also Gilmore, I'll go and …"

"Gilmore?" that caught Richard's attention. "Which Gilmore? It may be a cousin of mine…"

"It says here Lorelai Gilmore," the attendant informed.

"Lorelai Gilmore?" Richard said with surprise; he knew it couldn't have been his mother, she was in London. It must have been his daughter's ring,and with that knowledge that small box suddenly called to him as if his name had been Pandora.

"A relative sir?" the sales attendant asked.

"Umm yes, would you mind, I wonder, if I just had a peek. It's just that, well, I don't want my cousin to try and out do me for my wife's birthday gift."

"Oh, not to worry about that, sir; to my understanding, this is an engagement ring."

"An engagement ring?" and Richard's curiosity doubled.

"Yes sir, oh but perhaps you weren't supposed to know yet and here I've gone and ruined the surprise."

"You can be assured of my …discretion," Richard eased. "Please… may I?"

"Well, the cat's out of the bag now I suppose," and the sales man invited Richard to have a look.

Richard opened it and saw a fine ring, worthy of his daughter's hand, "And why did she drop it off?"

"Just a standard refitting, it was her fiancé's mother's ring. Oh, and I took the liberty of rechecking the settings and cleaning it as I understand from the fiancé that it has been in a safety deposit box for sometime." The sales attendant wanted to be certain that Mr. Gilmore knew that all of his family would receive the very best service if Mr. Gilmore was only to give them out as a recommendation to his affluent friends. "We wouldn't want her to loose one of those sapphires now?"

"Indeed we wouldn't." Richard continued to admire the ring, in awe of the delicate craftsmanship of the diamond flanked with sapphires. _Sensible of Luke to keep it in a safety deposit box, _"When will they be by to pick it up?" Richard's curiosity made him ask.

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The next day Richard was in the same store. Richard had explained that he had wanted to covertly check out his "cousin's fiancé" before the word spread around the family. In reality, Richard wanted to see his daughter as he only got to see her when Emily would guilt her into coming to holiday gatherings. As he waited for his daughter to show, Richard figured that Lorelai chose this particular jewelry shop since Richard had been coming here for years and she no doubt retained the name.

Richard heard Lorelai before he saw her as he heard her tell Luke, "You didn't have to come all the way back here with me…"

"I wanted to be the one to put the ring on your finger."

Richard had found a prime location behind a display of china and vases to keep him hidden.

Lorelai approached the counter and the attendant, "Lorelai Gilmore, I'm here to pick up my engagement ring."

"Of course ma'm, one moment."

The attendant, a different fellow from the one yesterday, fetched the ring for the engaged couple.

"Here we are, let's see how it fits," and the sales man was about to take Lorelai's hand to slip the ring on, but Luke stopped him.

"Allow me."

Lorelai smiled as she offered Luke her left hand and her breath seemed to catch in her chest as the cool metal slid onto her finger. She admired the ring for a while, moving her hand around, checking it at different angles, and the attendant decided to ask, "How does it feel ma'm?"

She looked at the ring, then to Luke, looking deep in his eyes as she put her hand on her heart to show him the ring too. "It feels like a perfect fit," she smiled at her fiancé and then kissed him.

"Very good ma'm," said the attendant who was a little uncomfortable since the couple kept kissing at his counter and decided to look away out of respect, politely smiling and nodding at other customers, who began to take notice. "They're engaged," he whispered to the curious customers. After a few minutes had passed he dediced to interrupt them. "I assume…" the attendant cleared his throat to get their attention, "I assume you will be wearing it out?"

"Mmm hmm," Lorelai nodded as she pulled away from Luke. Lorelai looked down at her ring finger again, "Oh you're right. I do feel better…this is just what I needed after yesterday with Paul and Mike."

"I thought so…" Luke smiled.

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Richard came home, his head still spinning at the thought that his daughter was getting married. The girl who used to stand on his toes as he danced her around the living room, the one who insisted at ten years old, 'I'm going to go to Yale, just like you,' and took Richard's diploma from his office, had put it in her room, didn't give it back for six months. His little girl, who never did go to Yale, or college for that matter, but got pregnant at sixteen, ran away with a little girl of her own, neither of whom Richard really knew. _And just who are Mike and Paul?_

Richard knew that wasn't right. Family should come first, a father should know his daughter, and no matter what, Richard vowed he would have his little girl back. Lorelai had grown up so fast and Richard wanted to know his granddaughter before she was all grown up and wouldn't need them, exactly like her mother. On the day Rory got married, Richard wanted to be wanted, invited, welcome, and present.

Emily met Richard at the door. "We have to talk," they said in unison in the foyer.

"You first," Richard said always the gentleman.

Emily took a deep breath to steel herself for repeating what she just learned. "Lorelai is trying to get Luke to adopt Rory, actual name him as her father and legal guardian. I've just had it from Trudy Mahoney, her husband was a judge, you know, and she heard the name Gilmore being discussed, so naturally she kept an ear open. These two lawyers were callously discussing my daughter's situation for anyone in Hartford to overhear. And what's worst… apparently… Lorelai is living with this Luke character … it's a scandal, it's just disgraceful! To think, I sent Lorelai to Cotillion and the best schools and now she's living with that man in a sex palace like a prostitute, all around Rory, who knows how will this affect her down the line. Really, to have that chop shop owner be my granddaughter's guardian."

Richard was a little stunned to learn his daughter was living with him already, maybe even a little disappointed, yet at the same time not surprised. "Hmm," he exhaled gruffly, acknowledging her news."Well that coincides with my news…"

"What?"

"Emily… our daughter is getting married."

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After seeing Luke and Rory interact at the friendly Saturday Barbeque in Stars Hollow, Mike and Paul felt even more confident in their case. Rory seemed shy but forthcoming with conversation, following Luke and Lorelai's lead, and once she put on her Luke's apron to start cooking with Luke she really opened up. Rory had warmed up so much that she invited the lawyers to stay for a movie, because tonight she had picked _Remo Williams The Adventure Begins_ from the video store. However the lawyers declined the offer, wanting to leave the family to their regular routine. Paul and Mike asked their clients if it would be all right to have another barbeque the following weekend, only this time with a social worker tagging along.

With a menu in mind and arrangements made, Ashley Nordheimer stopped by the house the following Saturday and had her own first hand account of the impending family. Ashley found Rory to be happy, healthy, and well adjusted despite her absent father. Ashley also observed the loving, natural bond between Rory and Luke as Rory explained to Mike and Paul what they had missed from the viewing of _Remo Williams_.

"…and when Chiun said 'It would be better for you to eat this can than what is inside of it,' I laughed and laughed. He reminded me of Luke harping to Mom about her coffee."

Ashley was surprised to learn the vying family had only known each other a year considering how close they all were. It was refreshing to see Rory and Luke so at ease and comfortable which was different from previous cases of stepfathers and daughters.

Ashley interviewed the potential family together, then spoke with Luke and Lorelai as a pair, and finally with each individually. Rory was a little nervous to be interviewed by herself because she didn't want to jeopardize the chances of Luke becoming her dad, but Ashley put her at ease with simple questions about school and her usual routine with Luke and her mother, so Rory answered them honestly.

After seeing the family in action and as soon as Luke's background check was concluded, Ashley didn't see any reason why the judge wouldn't rule in their favor.

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Luke was in his best suit, his only suit, so therefore that made it his best. Lorelai had bought it for him a while ago for Christmas dinner at the Gilmores. Lorelai teased and called it his power suit, no doubt to defer any nerves or tension about going to court, as she tried to lighten the mood while Luke shaved for their court appearance. She sat on the edge of the tub debating what powers Luke would have if he was a super hero in his power suit. Even though it wasn't a trial, just a simple hearing with a judge to present their case, a fairly cut and dry adoption since Lorelai was the birth mother and there was no one to contest custody, still nerves and tensions were high as the household arrived at the courthouse.

After the hearing commenced and the topic of Christopher was brought up, Mike Nicely explained to the judge the situation. "Your honor, we've tried to get in touch with the father, one Christopher Hayden, but he has been rather difficult to reach. Our associate Kevin Frankovich, a PI in California, looked into his whereabouts and the only trace he could find of Christopher Hayden was an old address, which matched an old phone number Ms. Gilmore provided, and also there is some outstanding credit card debts in his name and a police record."

"A police record?" the detail intrigued Judge Garland, "for…?" the judge searched the papers in front of him.

Mike chanced a reluctant glance to Rory, but complied and informed his honor of the arrest, "Drunk and disorderly, and aggravated assault."

The judge seemed to consider the information, "Hmm, and I understand his parents are here in Hartford."

"Yes sir," Mike nodded respectfully.

"And any luck finding him down that avenue?"

"They were unable to reach him," Mike explained.

"His own family?" the judged betrayed a hint of surprise.

"Apparently they aren't that close," Mike said wryly, in a tone that conveyed how unreliable a figure the absent father was, how little any family mattered to him.

"Do her grandparents, the Hadyens want any visitation with Rory?"

"Ummm no sir they don't want any involvement," Paul fielded the question delicately, tried to kindly word it for the sake of Rory being in the room. At the comment, Lorelai took her daughter's hand, _thank heaven for small favors._ Lorelai could hear Strobe's voice now, _we don't acknowledge, Rory, was it, as our granddaughter_.

The judge then addressed Luke, "Mr. Danes, why are you seeking custody of Rory Gilmore."

Luke cleared his throat, admittedly a little nervous, "Well, her mother and I are getting married and in the months Lorelai and I have been dating, these two have become my only real family. And if anything happened to Lorelai, I wouldn't want to lose Rory. I've already lost my parents, my sister is … well, doesn't live in the state," even though they were on better terms now, he figured the less said about his once wayward sister the better.

"I object!" Emily Gilmore burst into the room, followed reluctantly by Richard.

"Ma'm, are you a lawyer," Judge Garland asked.

"No, I am her mother," Emily stated haughtily.

Lorelai stood, "Mom? What are you doing here?"

"I'm going to argue on Chris' behalf," Emily said proudly.

Judge Garland observed, "This is highly unorthodox."

"Mom, Chris obviously has no interest, why can't you accept that," Lorelai pleaded.

"Of course he has an interest, he's her father."

"If he has an interest where has he been the last 10 years?"

Ignoring Lorelai's question, Emily went into attack mode, pointing an accusing finger at Luke "This man is unsuitable to be a father."

Judge Garland admonished, "Ma'm, you can't just burst in to my court room with emotional hysterics and pass judgment, that's my job."

"Well, surely you can see this man is inappropriate father figure."

Judge Garland challenged Emily from his stand, "I'm not going to sort out whatever obvious baggage you and your daughter have. My court room is not Jerry Springer and frankly your opinion doesn't matter here."

"Oh it doesn't?" Emily said indignantly. "This man wants to adopt my granddaughter."

Lorelai couldn't restrain herself any longer. "His name is Luke and he's going to be her step father. He has a right to custody."

"Then I want custody."

"What?" Lorelai said in shock, since for 10 years her parents never once imposed themselves in their lives, it was the polite holiday and the rest of the year they were dead to each other.

Emily reasoned, "Well if any Tom, Dick, or Harry off the street can have custody, why not her grandmother."

"Emily please," Richard didn't want this ugliness dragged out in court, especially while a stenographer was taking everything down for public record.

"Mom, you are talking crazy…"

"Well you are crazy if you want to marry someone so beneath you."

"Mom, I swear, this is none of you concern."

"Rory is my only grandchild, that makes it my concern…"

"Not if Luke and I give you more," Lorelai threatened, and then smiled slightly at the priceless look on Emily's face. Lorelai continued in the shocked silence, "Rory is my daughter, I get to choose what's right for her and both of us have chosen Luke."

"Oh she's only a child, she can't make any decisions…"

Luke took offense to that and defended Rory, "Do you know her at all!"

"Well, thanks to you two, apparently I don't!"

"Order, order…" Judge Garland couldn't take it any more and banged his gavel. "I'm gonna call for short recess to let these tempers cool a bit while I review the materials Mr. Danes and Ms. Gilmore have provided."

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In the hall, there were bad cups of coffee and cold shoulders. Rory didn't even try to talk to Emily and only smiled at Richard since, as far as she was concerned, Emily, and by association Richard, were against Luke and her mother. She didn't know these people; they seemed to care about her, but they didn't seem to know her, or care that she wanted Luke as part of her family.

Lorelai downed the coffee, even though it was terrible and threw away the coffee cup in the trash. When she turned around Emily was right in her face.

"Gah! Jeez… makes some noise… aren't you wearing heels?"

"Are you pregnant?" Emily asked, wondering if Lorelai's "more grandchildren" comment wasn't a mere, idle threat. Frankly, she had been expecting such an announcement since Easter.

"What?"

"Are you pregnant?" Emily repeated. "That's the only reason I can think of why you are marrying that man."

_Why do people keep assuming that!_ "Jeez mom, is that the only reason to get married at all? Did you lie about the date on my birth certificate?" Lorelai shot pointedly.

"Lorelai, I'm trying to understand I really am… why you do the things you do? Why? Why marry this man…?"

"Why I do what I do?" Lorelai shot back slowly. Her mother seemed to think she was a scientific phenomenon that needed classification. Lorelai tried to stay civil, "I do what I do because it makes me happy," she said simply. "That's why I eat pizza, that's why I wear jeans, that's why I wear glitter makeup and drink coffee! Okay? Why am I marrying Luke? Luke is his name by the way, but I am marrying him because I love him. For the first time I am really truly, happy… he makes me happy. He goes out of his way to make Rory happy. He takes care of us and puts us first."

"We could have done that if only you asked for help once in a while."

"Mom! That's just it. It wasn't help or caring you were offering, you wanted to control me. You wanted me to be the perfect cookie cutter image of a high class American debutante, no different from anyone else, no original thoughts of her own. Guess what, defying you makes me happy, having Luke be Rory's father would make me very happy, giving you more grandchildren with Luke as the father would make me obscenely happy!" Lorelai said gravely and sternly

Emily seemed horrified at the idea again as Lorelai walked away, back to Luke and Rory, back to her true family.

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Judge Garland now addressed semi cooled tempers, "I have reviewed countless character witnesses testimony from the residents of Stars Hollow and the pictures Mr. Danes and Ms. Gilmore have provided, so now I'd like Miss Gilmore to take the stand."

Lorelai stood up unable to think of what else she could say other than she loved Luke and wanted him to be there always for her and Rory.

"No, not you, the younger Miss Gilmore", and pointed to Rory.

All eyes went to Rory and she felt the weight of their stares as she approached the stand. She tried to remind herself that it wouldn't be as bad as it was on TV since she wasn't a criminal and the judge was really nice before her Grandmother came in to stir his anger.

"Now there is no reason to be nervous," Judge Garland said kindly, "Just tell me, what do you think of Mr. Danes."

Rory really didn't like being the center of attention, particularly under these circumstances. She didn't talk much to strangers since her mom usually did all the talking, but if she was going to be a journalist, she figured she might as well get used to it. "Well, Luke is a really great guy. When my mom first told me she was dating him… honestly I was angry, I wanted her with my real dad."

Lorelai took Luke's hand, afraid that Rory was being too honest, and that fact would ruin their chances,

"But," Rory continued, "…after getting to know Luke, and spending time with him… all the stuff he does for mom and me… he's really great."

"What sort of things has he done for the two of you? Give me a picture; give your grandmother, who you can see is only concerned because she cares about you, give her a picture."

"Well, he feeds us," Rory offered. "He runs a diner and he makes the best food. He makes burgers and fries, but he saves the special stuff for me and mom."

"Could you elaborate on special?"

"Well, he makes lasagna and mom teases him and calls him the lasagna king… just to make me laugh. And some times he makes steak, or lamb chops…or lamb and artichoke stew, and even though mom and I like burgers and fries, he always tries to get us to eat healthy …and you know before I didn't really like vegetables, but if Luke makes them… I eat them right up. He's gonna teach me how to make his special topping for asparagus."

"Hollandaise sauce?" Judge Garland supplied.

"No… it's something with tomatoes and onion…" and Rory started musing on the stand. "I think honey too, it's sort of sweet at the end." Realizing she was getting off track she explained, "That's sort of a game we play… he makes something and I try to guess what's in it. He's been teaching me all he knows about cooking." It was getting easier for Rory; she was just having a conversation, telling everyone about her wonderful dad to be.

"What would you said is your favorite vegetable Luke makes," the judge was amused by Rory's anecdotes, pleased that there were so many and he was naturally curious at how far Luke's influence was on the girl.

"Well, I like the asparagus, but sometimes he will deep fry zucchini even though he doesn't usually like it him self. He makes if for me because he knows it's become my favorite. He's says I'm still too young to work the deep fryer, he doesn't want me to hurt myself, but he's taught me how to make other things."

It was easier to talk about Luke now that she got past her initial nerves, "Oh! When I was sick with the chicken pox, all I wanted was mashed potatoes and me made them for me. He made the shelves in my room for all my books, he even painted little daisies on the side, as an accent, and painted daisies on my dressers to match. Oh and this one time, we watched a movie with Mom, it was that scary one, Misery with Kathy Bates and I couldn't sleep alone for a week. Luke, Mom and me, we all camped out in the living room with s'mores."

The pressure of remembering she was under oath reminded Rory "When we were shopping for Christmas presents, Luke wanted to make sure he got mom something she would really like… so he asked for my opinion, and even before that when summer was over he asked my opinion on which of his help at the diner he should keep into the fall…" Rory gently shot back at her abrasive grandparents, "He treats me like an adult and listens to what I have to say…."

"Alright, I think we have a pretty clear picture now," Judge Garland was marveling at all the memories one girl could have of her mother's boy friend. It was refreshing to hear about someone who really cared compared to the tales he usually heard.

"Wait one more thing please…" Rory looked her grandmother in the eye, "Luke may not be the dad I got, but he's the only dad I want."

Emily was dumbfounded to be put in her place by her 12-year-old granddaughter and that Rory could feel such an attachment to a man she only met mere months ago, who had already proven himself in her young eyes. Emily was upset that Rory felt this greater attachment over people that weren't her blood relation. Richard however was not at all surprised; Easter had only confirmed, in his eyes, Luke's firm presence in the girls' lives.

The hearing was adjourned and Judge Garland went to his chambers to ponder his decision. Luke and the girls tried to escape quickly in case Emily got a second wind. However, only Richard followed them in to the hallway, "Lorelai…" he called.

Lorelai's defenses were already up, so she barked harshly, "What?" as she turned to face her father.

Richard gave a small forgiving smile, understanding his daughter's mood was due to his wife's emotional attack. Richard seemed hesitant but offered a heart felt, "May I extend my best wishes… to the bride?"

Lorelai's icy demeanor melted toward her father's kind eyes and gesture as she stepped toward him and gave him a hug "Thank you, Daddy."

Richard whispered to his daughter, "I've only wanted you to be safe and happy. I hope you know that."

"I do, thank you."

Rory went to Richard too and hugged her grandpa at his waist. Richard knew Emily would be upset that he was still on such good terms with the girls, but Richard figured they would at least still have a connection despite Emily's vows of disowning Lorelai and never seeing her again. Richard knew Emily would regret such hasty promises, that they were merely her temper and emotional hysterics talking. Luke offered Richard a handshake, happy to have another ally on their side. Richard responded to the handshake and nodded to his future son-in-law, "You're a good man, take care of these girls."

"I will, sir."

When they came home to Stars Hollow, Rory sighed, "I'm exhausted… do you feel drained? I feel drained."

"Yeah, it's been a long day for all of us," Lorelai agreed, as she set her keys on the foyer table, half-smiling at Luke's reflection in the mirror. He would always be there, beside her through thick and thin.

"Luke, I don't feel like cooking today… can we order take out?" Rory asked.

"Sure," he touched her shoulder, "whatever you want."

"Chinese, something with snow peas…" Rory went to her room to lie down and ponder the events of her day and her pending future.

Luke saw Lorelai go up the stairs as he made the call to Al's Pancake World and placed their dinner order. After looking in on Rory, who was taking her mind off the day's events by curling up with another book, Luke went to check on Lorelai upstairs.

As he reached the landing, he heard her shallow breathing and sniffles through the partially opened door. He peeked inside and saw her sitting on the bed, convulsively sobbing, with her face in her hands, hiding her tears. When Luke stepped inside the room, Lorelai quickly cleared her throat, straightened up and turned away from him, trying to hide her obvious tears from him, and she attempted a bright, "Dinner ordered?" even though she was unable to face him.

"Yeah, I got those Crab Rangoon things you like so much."

"Aw good," she turned her tear stained face back to her fiancé hoping he wouldn't notice, with a false smile she added, "No one makes em like Al."

"Lorelai… come on."

"What?" she innocently shrugged.

"What is it? The hearing? Your mother?"

Lorelai slumped again since he had found her out, "This whole day," she admitted, "these last few months, my life after age six," and Luke sat beside her and put an arm around her. "It just never ceases to amaze me. My mother is the same unforgiving, never forgetting, never accepting me, the past or reality person. I mean, you think she'd have traded in her rose colored specs after I had gotten pregnant." Lorelai took another deep breath, leaning her head on Luke's shoulder, "She's acting like I wanted things this way. That I wanted to be unable to have a real conversation with my mother, to never have her hear me, like I wanted to be left out in the cold to figure things out on my own when I was young and scared, but I had to grow up quick, for Rory's sake, and I did it on my own. I didn't ask Christopher to leave, but he did…it's not my fault he left."

"I know…" was all Luke could say.

"And to hear how he's turned out… in debt, when he comes from money, with a police record… drunk, disorderly. I mean frankly, I don't know why I'm surprised, he was always so… I don't know submissive, pliant; and that is who she wants me to raise her only grandchild with… a broke drunk who has a good family and money to bail him out… oh if they can find him, that is." Lorelai looked up at Luke truly appreciative of who he was, "You don't have police record, you are responsible and reliable… why can't she see that…"

"I don't know… people see what they want to see I guess."

Lorelai stroked Luke's smooth shaven cheek, "I love you, more than I can say, you know that right? I am convinced that we were meant to be together. I know that things didn't work out with me and Christopher for a reason. I know why I hadn't dated much, because it left the path clear for you. I am happy and thankful that I went to your diner that day. That we met, that you had the guts to ask me out…finally."

"Well, it had been two years since my last date…I was over due," he teased.

"Still, I'm glad it was me that turned your head," she smiled looking deeply into his eyes.

Luke knew two things would cheer her up and since the food hadn't arrived yet, he leaned in to kiss Lorelai. Lorelai accepted the affection eagerly and laid down on the bed, pulling him down with her, clinging to the man who completed her perfect picture, the man who was bringing about her happy ending.

Lorelai enjoyed Luke's rare clean-shaven face and slid her hands down his sides to the zipper of his slacks. Both had forgotten the bedroom door was still open until Rory's voice filtered up the stairs "Luke? Food's here… where are you?"

Reluctantly, Lorelai let him go downstairs to pay for dinner, knowing at least she'd have a lifetime of Luke, a lifetime of him to make love to her when he was her husband.

**77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you NON POD Luke!  
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**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund...


	47. At The Ole Ball Game

**It's hard to believe a year ago I started this little adventure as a one shot, that's right I never intended things to go this far… but I'm glad I did!**

**In honor of my 27th Birthday, We give you four chapters! **

Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. **

**R/R: Yes, please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: AW If you DON'T KNOW BY NOW! HURUMPH! **

**LUVZ: I MISS YOU MOST OF ALL SCARECROW!**

**FEATURED BETA: Localizy, _WONDER TWIN POWERS ACTIVATE_**

**777777777777777777777  
****CHAPTER 47:  
At The Ole Ball Game**

Luke, Lorelai, and Rory put the ugliness of the court hearing behind them and prepped for the visit with Liz and Jess in the city. They had told Liz and Jess of the engagement first and Jess seemed just as happy about the match as much as Rory.

"Are you excited about the game?" Luke asked Rory as they drove down the highway.

"Oh yeah and after the game yesterday, who knows what will happen today!

"There was a game yesterday?" Lorelai asked surprised.

"Yeah, they play in three game series," Rory nodded, "We won 8-2, we creamed the Yankees."

"That's what Rory and I were watching on TV," Luke told his fiancée.

"Oh, I just knew it wasn't a movie, so I was brainstorming with Sookie for ideas for the wedding."

"Anyway," Rory segued. "I'm still a little confused on the rules… I mean I get the objective of each team is to win by scoring more runs than their opponent, but I'm still confused with the fouls and strikes and stuff…"

"Well, ask all the questions you want," Luke assured Rory. "I can explain during the game and we can deal with your confusion as it comes."

"When do we eat?" Lorelai asked.

Luke sighed and rolled his eyes hoping his engagement would last the nine innings.

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Luke grumbled about the price of parking while his sister told him to relax, that they were paying for a secure state of mind as well as having their car in a safe, well lit parking lot.

When the game started, Luke was happy to answer Rory and Jess' questions about the game, since neither had been to a live sporting event before. Lorelai received a funny look from Luke when she commented on how silly it was for those players to get so much money to stand around and occasionally swing a bat, scratch themselves, and spit.

At the start of the eighth inning, the kids were cheering like mad, while Liz and Lorelai, bored with the game, caught each other up on what was new in their respective circles.

"So how's that adoption thing going?" Liz asked casually.

Lorelai winced and answered in a low voice, "Well, we haven't heard anything yet."

"Why are you whispering?" Liz asked.

"Well, I just want today to be a break from all that. After what happened with my parents, Luke is really on edge about the adoption going through…"

Lorelai peeked over to Luke who seemed happily distracted explaining the rules of the game to the kids.

"Personally, I don't think has anything to worry about… he's such a great guy…"

"Yeah, but we have yet to hear from…" Lorelai stopped talking to let out a shriek which was drowned out with the roar of the crowd. "What the hell?" cried Lorelai, with a suddenly wet shirt.

"MOM, MOM, the Red Sox just scored," Rory said happily then frowned when she saw the scowl on her mother's face.

Luke also became concerned when he noticed she was dripping, "Lorelai? What happened?"

Lorelai glared at the man she loved, she didn't say a word, but turned to the guy behind her and bitingly asked, "Did you just throw your beer on me?"

"Aw jeez, I'm sorry," the slightly tipsy Red Sox fan apologized, "but my boys are coming back… back from behind…" pointing to the playing field.

"We're here for the Sox too, if you don't mind it's her first game and you're gonna make it hard for me to ever bring her back again," Luke scowled with his hands on his hips.

Afraid of the menacing glare from Luke, the tipsy fan quickly reached for his wallet, "And umm jeez, here let me pay for a new shirt for your wife there… uhh cute kids by the way…"

Lorelai was so angry she couldn't even laugh that people thought they were married already, when they couldn't even settle on a wedding date yet.

Luke took the fifty bucks the guy offered and turned to Lorelai, "You sure you're alright?"

Lorelai merely huffed through gritted teeth, "I'm gonna go clean up and … well do some shopping…" taking the money out of Luke's hands, sending a final glare at the guy behind her.

A half hour later, the ninth inning was starting and Lorelai returned all smiles again, in a brand new Red Sox t-shirt she got from a souvenir stand.

"You sure you're all right?" Luke asked.

"Eh, retail therapy. Look I even got a shot glass and a ball cap for Rory," she said trying to be good humored.

"But before…with the beer…"

"Aw, beer is supposed to be good for your hair," she replied as she kissed Luke.

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On the car ride home from the ballgame, the Stars Hollow trio were still high from the Red Sox's win, 9-3, and attempted to use those endorphins for good as Lorelai held a calendar while Rory double-checked her notebook.

"Well, okay, I know the Inn is booked up through June, so, what about Fourth of July weekend?" Lorelai suggested. "We'd get free fireworks display, a theme… red white and blue for our wedding colors…and after last year it would be ironic." Lorelai said archly.

"Why would it be ironic?" Rory asked, not knowing about the pregnancy scare of last year.

"I don't want Taylor giving us a hard time stealing the carnival's thunder," Luke argued.

"Why would it be ironic?" Rory asked again.

Lorelai ignored the query from her daughter, "Well, where were we … August 2nd or 3rd?"

A red flag perked up in Rory's mind, checking her notebook, "Morey's got a gig in Maine, a reunion of some sort, so Babette and him wouldn't be able to make it."

"Okay? Well, how about the following weekend? The 9th or 10th?"

"Umm, Andrew is going on a cruise," Rory informed.

"Okay? What about the 16th and 17th?" Lorelai asked. "Oh, wait I have to run the Baxter Double wedding, never mind…"

"At this rate we'll have to wait till September!" Luke griped.

"Luke, you can't have a wedding without the bride."

"But picking our wedding date around everyone's vacations?" he grumbled.

"Everyone just wants to be there… I think it's sweet."

"This is not sweet, it's ridiculous, I thought Patty was kidding, but then she handed you that list. Why do we have to coordinate with everyone's schedules?"

"These are our friends, our neighbors; they just want to celebrate with us."

"Hey Mom?" Rory piped in from the back seat. "We do have a window between Gypsy's return from Milwaukee's Brewery tours and before Kirk's mom has oral surgery for her impacted wisdom teeth."

"For the love of…" Luke was attempting to focus his eyes on the road ahead, rather then roll them in anger.

"When sweets?" Lorelai encouraged.

Rory shrugged, "July 24th? But it's a Thursday."

"Aren't weddings, I don't know, usually on a Saturday or Sunday," Luke asked his fiancée.

"Dare to be different, honey," Lorelai smiled. "I don't want to have to wait till September. Do you?"

Luke had to smile at the excellent point, "July 24th sounds great," he said dryly. They now had a date and that decision gave the couple 8 weeks to plan and pull off their wedding.

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Back to his daily routine, Luke seemed to be on edge again. It could have been the Red Sox last loss at Yankee Stadium, unable to sweep their game series in New York, and in an attempt to draw him out of him mood, Lorelai teased, "What's wrong Luke? Girl trouble?"

Luke shot her a glare, "In a manner of speaking."

"What?" she said truly off guard.

"I just… I want it to be over…"

"What? The wedding?" She was suddenly afraid that he was sick of her and Sookie's giddiness running wild with symbolic music and romantic details like flowers, candles, train length, and finally picking the square as the location for the ceremony and reception, since the Inn was booked up.

"Well, yeah, that too, but more the adoption process. I mean we looked for Chris, hired a PI all the way in California only to have the trail turn up cold; no new number, no forwarding address. I had to provide bank statements and the accounting history to the diner to prove I could provide for both of you. We took all those pictures of the house and of us together and the Judge was just, 'Well we will take these materials under advisement'. Just leaving us hanging…dangling by a sheer thread of hope. Under advisement, almost if he says no I'll have to move out and your mother will get a restraining order on me. We are already living together, the wedding is next month, but everything is hanging on this one detail… this is torture! I just want to see those papers, signed, sealed, delivered."

"…I'm yours!" Lorelai cried to complete the verse of the song, however Luke didn't appreciate the humor at that moment in time.

"Until I see those papers, making it all official, I'm just gonna keep having this nervous stomach," Luke grimaced.

"Imagine how you will feel if we have our own kids."

"Please, don't tease me with that now, this is enough."

Lorelai felt bad for all he was putting himself throughunnecessarily. She had gotten the papers in the mail two days ago but she wanted to present them to him in a very special way.

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Sunday Luke came home from closing the diner, hoping to go to straight to bed. Luke called out, "I'm home." As he put his keys on the foyer table he saw his reflection in the mirror and knew he wasn't getting much rest. With the adoption looming overhead and wedding plans taking over the house, Luke was stressed. Not so much for the details of the wedding, he agreed long ago Lorelai could have whatever she wanted, as long as he didn't have to where a kilt or a feminine color with his tux he was fine, he just wanted Rory to be his daughter already; signed, sealed, delivered.

Luke came into the kitchen to see what God-awful thing the girls had ordered when he was startled by their exclamation of "Surprise!"

"What the?"

Rory took his hand and pulled him to sit down just so at the kitchen table, "Close your eyes."

"What?"

"Close them…" she insisted.

Luke always hated giving them complete control, but they seemed really happy and who was he to spoil their fun.

Once he complied, Rory instructed, "Hold out your hands"

Luke hoped to God this wasn't a practical joke where he'd get something slimy or revolting squirming in his hand. He felt papers shoved in his hands and he knew now what they were, he opened his eyes and read the adoption certificate before him.

"Happy Father's Day," Rory smiled shyly.

Luke tore his eyes from the paper, "What?"

"Today is Father's Day and now you are my father."

Luke looked at the papers again with a smile. It finally happened. Then, he noticed, "These are dated two weeks ago?" he looked at Lorelai for being so cruel.

"Now don't be upset…they just came on Wednesday, remember you were doing inventory…and I wanted it to be special, so I hid them to save for today… "

"We have it all lined up; dinner is already made and we got a bunch of movies to watch…Life with Father, Mr. Mom," Rory listed.

Lorelai informed him, "Ben is opening tomorrow so you don't have an excuse for going to bed early."

Luke looked at Rory, "Come here."

Rory smiled back, and threw her arms around Luke, "I love you."

"I love you too," and for the first time Luke felt he could breath easy. The state said that Rory was now his daughter, soon Lorelai would be his wife, and they would officially be a family.

"Come on…" Rory pulled him into the living room. "I want to watch a movie with my dear old dad."

The new family settled on the couch as Rory announced, "First up… _Stalag 17_!"

Lorelai groaned, but since it was a special occasion, she let it slide.

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Lorelai had sent her daughter on a wedding errand with Lane so Luke and her could have a moment alone to talk about grown up things. Lorelai had intended Rory's errand to serve that purpose, but Luke had been too quick for her and he was kissing her before the girls were off the porch steps. Being engaged was inducement enough to fool around as engaged couples do, as well as just being in the same room for that matter, however, with social workers and house studies behind them, it felt like they hadn't been together in weeks, and now Luke being the official father to her child made him even more irresistible.

With a house all to themselves, Luke and Lorelai fell on their bed. Although, now she had to try to stop what was almost set in motion. Lorelai couldn't even enjoy Luke's hand finding its way under her shirt and to her breast because she was thinking of ahead of when they would do this activity as a married couple. This made her think of the wedding and the errand, which made her think of a conversation she had put off having with Luke since she started reading all those bride magazines.

"Luke," Lorelai gasped. "Hmmm baby, I gotta talk to you," she sighed, as Luke was busy with her ear lobes and neck.

"Hmmm later," happy for a break from another conversation about color scheme and candles.

"Luke, now, please…"

Luke growled, but stopped and looked up at Lorelai who was perched on top of him, "Yes?"

"I need to talk to you about the wedding."

"Okay? I thought this was supposed to be a break from wedding talk?" and he reached for her again.

Lorelai shied away, "Please Luke."

"Okay? What?"

"Well, I've been reading all these magazines lately…"

"Yes, I know."

"And I've heard that some couples, you know, sort of… control themselves before the wedding."

"Okay?" Luke wasn't following.

"You know they abstain from certain enjoyable activities? Till they are officially married."

"Okay?"

"Well, I was wondering if we could do that?"

"What?"

"Not have sex till after the wedding?" Lorelai bit her lip.

"What?" Luke propped up on his elbows. "Lorelai you're telling me this now when you are straddled on top of me?"

"Hey, coming up here was your idea…"

Luke fell back on the pillow, "Because with the adoption and all of our wedding decisions we haven't gone out on a date since… I don't even remember when." Then he asked, "How long before the wedding?"

Lorelai winced again, "I was thinking… a month?"

"A month?" Luke repeated.

"Yes"

"Lorelai today is the June 24th…" Luke stated.

"Yes it is."

"Our wedding… is July 24th…"

"Yeah, see I'm a terrible procrastinator and I kind of put off having this conversation till the last minute, you know, with the wedding plans taking over…"

Luke sighed, "I don't think I'm going to be able to control myself for a month lying next to you."

"Well, see," Lorelai laughed lightly, and hesitated again. "That's the other part of the deal I was thinking about…"

"What?" Luke asked suspiciously.

"Well, I was thinking that you could stay at the diner?" she said brightly, _the good old bachelor pad_.

"What?"

"Well Liz and Jess don't need it so your old apartment is just sitting there…"

"You want me to move out?" he exclaimed. "Move out just to move back in again!"

"No, no, not move out just spend the nights at the diner… instead of here…to avoid temptation."

Luke lay back flat on the mattress. He couldn't believe what she was saying and all with her still straddled on top of his manhood. Luke lay beneath Lorelai, taking in deep breaths, shaking his head unable to believe his luck.

Lorelai explained, "I was reading about it in a magazine article and some couples say it makes the honeymoon better, you know, a month without each other, a chance to miss being together and appreciate each other, and we are heading into crunch time. I mean this place is going to turn into wedding central."

"It already is wedding central," Luke argued back.

"Yeah, well, it's only going to get worse. I haven't even been able to bring a dress home because you can't see it or its bad luck."

"That's a silly superstition," Luke argued.

"Please, with my family, I'm not taking any chances thank you. There is some wedding dress out there that will never fulfill its wedding day destiny because you wouldn't leave this house. This place is going to be taken over by Jordan almonds, flowers, and tulle so I'm trying to save you from being strangled by the tulle." Lorelai understood his reluctance to the conversation, especially since she was still on top of him. Lorelai decided to make it worth his while, when she leaned forward again, "You know Luke…we don't have to…decide this now…"

"The wedding's in a month, when are we going to decide it?"

"Well, we could…after?" she suggested.

"After?" he raised a brow.

"After," she nodded and kissed him.

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"Hey Lane, you want to see a movie?"

"I thought we had to get this stuff back to your mom?" Lane asked Rory, helping Rory with the bags.

"I think her and Luke need some alone time to talk, I'm getting better at sensing it now."

"So technically, Luke is your dad," Lane asked her friend, "is that …weird?"

"Actually," Rory shrugged, "it feels completely normal."

"Cool," Lane nodded, "Oooo, they are showing Spinal Tap at Black White and Red, let's see that."

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In the humid June afternoon, their bodies were sticking together from their activity. Lorelai was naked and panting beside her fiancé, and decided, she had changed her mind, "Luke?"

"Yeah?" he said in his own ragged breath.

"Remember what we were talking about before?"

"Yeah."

"I take it back, I take it all back. I can't be without you for a whole month," Lorelai began to nibble on his neck.

"Well, you make a compelling argument," Luke said sardonically, "but, Lorelai…I think we should do it…that is, not do it."

"What?" her head popped up from his shoulder.

"You talked me into it."

"How?" wondering how sleeping with him changed his mind.

"You are very persuasive?" Luke had to grin.

"Of all the times for you not to fight me on something."

"I think your right, a month is nothing, and I mean the last year was a little…fast, you know."

"Well, that's because Rory wasn't comfortable with us yet."

"Lorelai, its fine…let's control ourselves."

Lorelai sighed, somewhat disappointed, "You're right, I know you're right. It will be that much better when we are reunited as husband and wife," and a chill went up Lorelai's back.

"Husband and wife," Luke mused with a smile that matched Lorelai's.

"We have to shake on it and make it all official," Lorelai stressed, offering her fiancé her hand.

Luke rolled his eyes since they were already naked, but shook her hand it to seal the deal.

**77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you NON POD Luke!  
7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 **

**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund...


	48. Ding Dong The Bells Are Gonna Chime!

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. **

**R/R: Yes, please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: AW If you DON'T KNOW BY NOW! HURUMPH! **

**LUVZ: I MISS YOU MOST OF ALL SCARECROW!**

**FEATURED BETA: Localizy, _WONDER TWIN POWERS ACTIVATE_**

**777777777777777777777777777777777777**

**Chapter 48:  
Ding Dong the Bells are gonna chime!**

Luke would take a week's worth of clothes to the diner at a time, coming home on the weekend to do his laundry and make sure that Lorelai and Rory weren't falling back into their old eating habits. During the week and nights that he wasn't around it left Lorelai and Rory to wedding land. Other then "the bedroom reasons" for keeping Luke out of the house, Lorelai wanted to make sure he wasn't around so she could safely work on her wedding dress and finally bring home the materials she needed for her special project.

"Rory?" Lorelai poked just her head in the house.

"Yeah?" Rory called from her room.

"Is Luke here?"

"No, you banished him remember!" Rory grumbled. She liked having Luke there in the morning if he didn't have to open, he would make her pancakes or whatever she wanted, Rory didn't even have to get dressed, and she could go straight from bed to the table and enjoy her breakfast and not have to get out of her PJs. Luke was her father now; she didn't understand why he couldn't keep living there till the wedding, but her mom would spout something about a silly superstition.

"I didn't banish him." Lorelai was tired of the little grudge Rory had against her, "I just …" _don't want the temptation of sleeping with him before our wedding._ "I didn't want any bad luck before our marriage..."

Rory rolled her eyes again, _predictable._

"Can you help me?" Lorelai asked nicely.

"With what?"

Lorelai explained, "Well, I bought some material and…"

Lorelai could hear Rory's loud gasp from her bedroom, then the thudding of her tennis shoes on the hardwood floor as Rory ran to the door and past her mother to help, grudge forgotten in the excitement. "Is it for your dress? Huh? Huh? Is it?" Rory bounced in place on the porch, waiting for her mom to answer, acting as if someone said William Holden is here.

"It is," Lorelai nodded. "I also have material for Sookie's and for yours."

Rory squealed, "EEEEEEEEEEEE!" grabbing her mom's arm and pulling her down the front steps. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Rory ran ahead to the car to help her mother.

With the bolts of fabric, reels of lace and bags of beads safely in the house, the girls then spent time organizing everything, beads and sequin in one pile, the variety of lace in another and all the blue and off white fabric in another on the couch.

Rory asked, "Why didn't you get white-white?" Rory furrowed at the ivory satin bolt.

"Well, I thought this went better with my skin tone." Lorelai really didn't want to explain the whole virgin thing to her daughter, after all some traditions were nice.

"Oh, okay!" Rory accepted, "and it goes nice with your hair too. So… what's it gonna look like?"

"I don't know yet," Lorelai shrugged, overwhelmed by all the supplies she bought. _Did I really buy all this, it's one, well, three dresses…_ "I mean I have a picture in my mind, of what I want, but it's translating it to reality..."

"Okay, obviously you want some beading," Rory commented at the large pile of pearly and shiny beads.

"I just want it to add to my glow for the big day. I'm getting married, I have to sparkle."

"Can I sparkle too?"

"Well, of course, we have to match."

"Okay then, sleeves or no sleeves?"

"I don't know," Lorelai shook her head. "I thought the lace would be nice for sleeves, but I don't want to be covered up like a bride of God."

"Huh?" Rory tilted her head to one side.

"A nun."

"Aw, okay, so...veil or no veil?"

"I don't know," Lorelai sighed.

"Would drawing it out help?"

"You know, I have no artistic capabilities."

"So, what do you want to do?"

"You're going to be my little helper right?"

"YES!" Rory said ready for her mission.

"Well, first we are need to go through all these new wedding magazines," she said, putting a separate bag of brides periodicals on the coffee table. "Then, we have to mark and note the details we like… then, as stupid as it sounds... maybe... go wedding dress window shopping."

"Can we try stuff on to see what works? Like _Muriel's Wedding_?"

"Sure, but I still want to make it myself. I finally got Luke out of the house so he can't stumble in on it and then we would be getting married on bad luck. When Sookie's shift is over we'll take her along too, the more the merrier, the faster I make a decision."

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Even though Luke had been banished to sleep at the diner, he still came over to make dinner and hang out. If time, the diner, and wedding plans permitted sometimes he would even spend a movie night with his girls, relishing in the fact that they both would soon be his girls.

"Hi," Luke said shyly when Lorelai met him at the door. He missed her so much, it had only been a week, but he felt shy again like when they were first dating.

"Hi" Lorelai blushed, missing him everywhere, as much in her bed as around the house. She could barely sleep at night without him to sleep beside her. She had grown used to his light snoring and now at bedtime it was too quiet and too cold in her room.

"So, I'm making dinner here right?" he asked.

"Well, you have groceries in your hands," Lorelai chuckled.

"Oh yeah, well, I didn't know if, you know, Rory needed fresh ingredients...for anything…"

Luke and Lorelai just stared at each other knowing the days were counting down till their wedding.

"LUKE!" Rory exclaimed, running at him, tackling him with a hug, that had him pinned against the front door.

"Hey Rory."

"I've missed you!"

"I noticed, but you saw me at the diner this afternoon."

"It's not the same," Rory squeezed, "I can't wait till you live here all the time again…"

Luke and Lorelai noticed Rory was careful not to mention the fact that now legally Luke was her father. It was probably still so new to her, she wanted to take it a step at a time, everyone still need to get used to the idea in their own time. "I missed you too, kid."

"Luke, there is one rule about being here now," Rory announced.

"What?"

"You can't go in Mom's bedroom."

Luke automatically looked at Lorelai wondering if she told Rory the whole of their agreement and the reason he was sleeping at the diner till the wedding, "Okay?" he said cautiously.

"She's working on her wedding dress and you can't see it!"

Luke looked again to his fiancée, "You're...making it?"

"Yeah, I am," Lorelai nodded proudly.

"Nice," Luke said. "You know, my mother made her dress too."

"Really?" Rory asked, "Do you have pictures?"

"Maybe, why?"

"Well, the final design hasn't been realized yet, maybe Mom could get some ideas."

"Sure," Lorelai agreed, "umm dinner and movies shall we?" Rory was ushering their guest in, while Lorelai was wishing her and Luke could be alone again.

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Lorelai had a line of wedding movies they were watching to help count down to her own big day, that evening's choice was _Besty's Wedding_, during which Luke begged Lorelai not to have a top hat instead of a veil as part of her final wedding dress design. She teased, "You'll have to wait and see." After the movie, Lorelai walked Luke to the door, as she had the year before when Luke first started coming over for movie nights.

"Thanks for dinner," Lorelai shrugged.

"Kind of like old times..." he observed.

"Yeah, kind of," and Lorelai had to laugh t again. "Luke... we're getting married."

"I know."

"Just last year… I mean, we were getting Rory used to you and now you are her father."

"Well, adoptive father," Luke he said humbly.

"You're her father," Lorelai repeated firmly. "She looks up to you she loves you... I love you too."

"Well, I hope so, or we've gone through all this trouble for nothing," he laughed when she started hitting his chest. "I love both of you." Luke kissed Lorelai a little longer than expected.

Things were heating up a little too much for a kiss good night and when Rory hadn't heard any talking for a while she knew she had better check on them as her mom had told her to do. Her eyes widened when she saw them, "A-HEM"

The engaged couple disengaged their affection, embarrassed that they needed a twelve year old to remind them to keep their hands to themselves.

"Umm, good night" Luke said sheepishly.

"Good night," Lorelai said wistfully. When he was on his lonely way back to the diner, Lorelai turned to her daughter, "Okay, new rule, for the next month, Luke and I can't be left alone like that."

"Why?"

"That's why. Umm Luke and I made a deal not to …you know, have sleepovers, but we can't be alone like that…ever, not here, not at the diner, no where... if you need a soda, I'll get it or Luke will get it but we can't be left alone until we are married. Do you understand?"

"Got it," Rory shrugged, wondering what the big deal was.

"If that happens again," Lorelai was pointing to the spot where she and Luke had been kissing most passionately moments before, "You have to do something to stop us, anything, okay? Permission granted for extreme measures."

This seemed important to Lorelai so Rory, still confused, agreed, "Okay."

"Promise."

"I promise."

"Okay," Lorelai sighed, "I'm going to take a cold shower before bed... night."

"Night mom," Rory cocked her head to one side thinking her mother was being even more silly than normal.

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Whenever she had spare moments from the Inn and wedding plans she would improve her dress by adding beading here and there, adjusting a hem, or changing the neckline, perhaps. Finally, exactly 10 days before the wedding, Lorelai felt she had it perfect.

A week before the wedding Rory went up the stairs to give her mother a message from Sookie about her flowers, "Mom?"

"Oh… hi Hon…" Lorelai giggled a little embarrassed.

Rory entered her mother's room and shook her head at her mother, "You are trying on your wedding dress again?" exasperated, but finding her enthusiasm funny and cute. Frankly, Rory never thought her mother could look more beautiful, but it's amazing what an ivory dress, a veil, and some shiny beads and embroidery could do for a woman.

"I had to make sure it fit," Lorelai defended.

"Again?" Rory droned.

"I can't help it…it's so pretty!" Lorelai twirled again playing with the skirt of her gown. The final product was an off the shoulder, ivory satin floor length gown. The bodice was overlaid with lace, so to off-set the simple ivory satin, Lorelai spent many, many hours meticulously sewing in delicate beading and embroidery by hand along the hem, shoulders, and waist of the dress. When it was done and she modeled it for Rory, Sookie, and Mia, all four women ended up in tears at the sight of Lorelai in her wedding gown.

"Well, it should be, you made it."

Lorelai stared at herself in the mirror again, "I just can't wait to wear it...for real!"

"You really love him…" Rory observed.

"Yeah I do," Lorelai whispered quietly as she admired the dress in the mirror.

"I love him too, you know… well in a different way…"

"I know and thank you for letting me date him in the first place."

"Hey! Can I try on my dress too?" Rory wanted in on the fun.

Lorelai smiled; if she had a partner in crime she wouldn't feel so stupid, "Of course you can."

With Lorelai in ivory, Rory in bright blue, mother and daughter reclined on Lorelai's huge bed, soon to be Lorelai and Luke's marital bed. The Gilmore girls were eating mallomars from the box, careful not to get a smudge of chocolate on their pristine embroidered and beaded dresses.

"You know kid, you are lucky. Not every girl gets to be the flower girl at their own mother's wedding."

_Not every girl gets to pick her father,_ Rory smiled inwardly. "I still want to be a bridesmaid…"

"Rory…"

"Please…"

"We need a flower girl and you are by far the best choice for that job."

"This is a once in a life time chance, please, can't I be both?"

Lorelai shrugged, "Why not. In the event that the first bridesmaid is unable to perform her duties you can become first bridesmaid." Mother and daughter laughed, "All right, I suppose I should take this off," but Lorelai looked at her self one more time in the mirror, "I'm getting married," she smiled with a final smile to Rory.

Rory went downstairs to hang her dress back up too, and save it for the big day. Left alone in her room, Lorelai knew there was one stop she had to make in the final errands leading to her wedding day which was a mere week away.

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"That was all God given talent..." why thank you NON POD Luke!  
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**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund...


	49. I Just Want You To Know Who I Am

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. **

**R/R: Yes, please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: AW If you DON'T KNOW BY NOW! HURUMPH! **

**LUVZ: I MISS YOU MOST OF ALL SCARECROW!**

**FEATURED BETA: Localizy, _WONDER TWIN POWERS ACTIVATE_**

**A/N: Dialouge borrowed from 4-16 the Reigning Lorelai.**

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****Chapter 49  
I Just Want You To Know Who I Am**

Lorelai was going through the RSVP list with Sookie, aka Bridesmaid number one, and was saddened that her own parents hadn't responded to the invitation. When Sookie and Lorelai were addressing the invitations the question of inviting her parents came up. After the scene at the courthouse Lorelai was positive her mother would make a scene at the wedding, but after talking it over with Luke, she decided to invite her parents to wedding hoping they might surprise her, despite the animosity between them. The RSVP date came and went and the happy couple had yet to hear a response, not even from her father who had been so positive towards them at the courthouse. So, the day after Sookie and Lorelai finalized the RSVP list, Lorelai decided to bite the bullet and went to her childhood home, hoping to get some sort of acknowledgement from her parents. A nameless maid showed her in to the dining room where Emily was planning some grand event, an event not related to her only daughter's wedding.

"Hi mom," Lorelai said, hoping to get some response.

Emily continued writing as if she was still alone.

"Well, less than a week till the big day!" Lorelai tried to sound enthused.

Emily still ignored her daughter and kept writing out her plans.

"I don't know if you heard," Lorelai still posed, "the adoption went through, so Luke is now Rory's dad. Officially, Yey! It is kinda funny though since we aren't even married yet, but if anything happens to me… well, at least they will stay together."

Emily took a sip from her teacup and automatically put it back on its saucer.

"You should see my dress, it's gorgeous; it has embroidery and beading," Lorelai didn't dare to mention that she had made the dress, but then again if Emily was criticizing her at least she would be talking to her. "It's funny you know… I'm just so excited that, well, I keep trying on my dress over and over." That comment seemed to move Emily and her pen paused. Lorelai continued attempting to thaw out her mother, "I'm surprised the beads haven't popped off yet. I'm still not sure about the veil though, but well, too late now I guess. Well, I just stopped by… we sent you an invitation… you know in the mail… and well you never RSVP'd… so ummm here," Lorelai pulled an invitation out of her purse, stepped towards her mother, and placed beside her mother's party plans, "It's hand delivered so you can't say it got lost in the mail."

Lorelai was going to leave it at that, but turned back to face her mother again. "You know, you are the mother of the bride, you kinda have to be there…"

"I don't have to be anywhere," Emily said stiffly.

"She speaks!" Lorelai said sarcastically.

"I will not condone this match by attending the wedding. I learned a long time ago that giving any kind of attention to your antics only encouraged you…"

"Antics?" Lorelai interrupted, laughing out loud that her mother was comparing getting married to childish vies for attention. "Well, guess what, mother! There is going to be a wedding next week whether you acknowledge it or not… whether you attend or not…" Lorelai made to leave, but Lorelai stopped again, one final plea for her mother's presence. "I'm your only daughter…I'm getting married. Doesn't that mean anything to you? You are sitting there comparing my relationship with Luke as antics from when I was a teenager? Sneaking out of the house and getting married are two totally different things." Then Lorelai felt angry again, trying to figure out why she even wasted the drive to Hartford, "You know what? You don't have the power to condone or consent or whatever. Luke and I are adults, we don't need your permission! Your one and only daughter is getting married! I came here, in person, to ask you to come… I want you there… both of you, both of my parents there. I wanted dad to give me away if he can stomach it and I wanted you to…" she said sardonically.

It seemed her pleas were falling on deaf ears, "Your only daughter is getting married," she said simply again, hoping the repetition would move Emily. "She is getting married to a man who really loves her and your granddaughter. I found where I belong, someone who loves me as is, no changes, just as I am. He is someone who will take care of both of us and protect us. This wedding is the joining of a beautiful family and all of us would like you to be apart of that. I just… I just wanted to share that with you…"

Lorelai left her mother's house quickly; holding back tears, refusing to show her mother how much she hurt her.

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The wedding was two days away and Lorelai wasn't exactly a blushing bride, more like a fuming bride. Lorelai was determined to go through all the stages of acceptance before her big day. She was wallowing in the kitchen with some ice cream, when there was a knock at the back kitchen door.

Lorelai opened the back door, "Luke?"

Luke took her in his arms and kissed her. Lorelai enjoyed his affections for a few minutes, till she needed to breathe again. "Luke," she gasped, "What are you doing here?" pressing her forehead against his. "We agreed not before the wedding…" wondering if he had come to his wits end by the way he had grabbed her.

"I know, I just heard maybe you needed cheering up."

"How?" Lorelai suddenly figured, "Rory?"

"That and I have eyes, you've been sulking for days. I want my bride to be excited about marrying me…What happened?" Luke asked.

"I went to see my mother."

"That'll do it." Luke sighed, "And?"

"I don't think they are coming," she sighed. "I don't know…I thought something like this… I don't know."

Luke knew the best thing to get Lorelai's mind off it. He kissed her forehead at first, then worke dhis way down to her mouth again. Since it had been just under a month since they had been alone, the display was getting very heated. A month of controlling themselves did the trick and the slightest touch was turning them both on. "Luke, come inside," Lorelai was pulling on his belt already. "Come inside and make love to me," she said in a hot whisper.

"Hmmm, you drive a hard bargain" Luke growled, "but we had a deal. Two more days."

Lorelai groaned, "Two more days…" Luke was so close, playing with her hand, and she thought she was going to explode.

"I better get back to the diner… you don't want any bad luck now."

"Hmmm you don't believe in luck," Lorelai tugged on his flannel with that glint in her eye.

"You do. And that's all that matters. Oh almost forgot… brought this for you too." And he turned and gestured his thumb to the porch rail, there was a tray with two coffees, and a few doughnuts in a bag.

"Luke, will you marry me?" she sighed.

"In two days I will," Luke made the mistake of kissing her again. Lorelai's arms snaked around his neck and he knew he couldn't escape; things became heated again for a few minutes, till Rory opened the back door again and sounded the air horn her mother had given her.

After a few minutes of shocked ear clutching and laughter by the younger Gilmore, Luke's ears were still ringing, "Jeez! Rory? What are you doing?"

"Mom said I should use this if you two got too quiet."

Luke looked at Lorelai.

"Well, I knew I couldn't be trusted and Rory is my conscience."

"Night, to both of you," and Luke merely pecked Lorelai's hands and hugged Rory goodnight, hoping the next two days would go by quickly.

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Richard drove Emily around for about thirty minutes, while she sat quietly in the car, wondering where they were going as Richard had only told her he had a surprise to show her. They pulled into a small town she didn't recognize at first, then she saw the sign for the Independence Inn, and she demanded to know where they were going.

Richard remained silent as he parked the car near the square. "It is such a charming, little town, everyone buzzing with activity."

Emily slowly turned to her husband, "This is it, isn't it… Stars Meadow…"

"Hollow," Richard corrected.

Emily narrowed her eyes at the nerve of her husband, "What are we doing here?"

Richard pointed out to the square, "All this preparation is for Lorelai's wedding day. It's tomorrow Emily, in case you were interested!" he said sharply.

"It just so happens that I am not!"

"Pardon my error," Richard mock apologized, "as a mother I thought you'd care to know that."

"I know perfectly well when and where it is. On a Thursday, why on earth would she have it on a Thursday?"

"Because she is!" Richard barked. "For the hell of it! Because she wants to, you know Lorelai never does anything unless she really wants to! Look at this, all this fanfare fit for a princess, our princess, our only daughter. She has found a man she deemed worthy, she has made her choice, Emily."

"Exactly!"

"Emily, you remember how excited you where when you were pregnant? How you couldn't wait to show Lorelai all the things your mother showed you."

"All the good it did me, with her sneaking out, getting into trouble," Emily began to tear up.

"Luke is the man she has chosen and he is not as bad as you assume him to be. Could he have won the heart of our daughter if he was such a vagrant, she is a sensible girl in most respects," he admitted.

"Richard you can't expect me to condone this match."

"That is exactly what I expect. Can you put your pride aside for one day so we can be apart of her happiness for once?" Richard paused for a moment almost reluctant to continue, "My mother did."

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"Now, I promised myself you would never see this, but apparently you need a little perspective," Richard reached into the breast pocket of his coat and handed Emily a letter, "Read."

"This is from your mother," and Emily read the letter outloud, while Richard stared out the window.

"'_My Dearest Richard, It is with heavy heart that I write you this letter tonight, but I cannot stand by and let you make a terrible mistake. Until now, I had thought, hoped, prayed that you would come to the same conclusion that I have. But you have not, and therefore, I feel it is my duty as your mother to beg you to reconsider your impending marriage._" Emily's jaw dropped, she knew her mother in law had never liked her, always judging, criticizing, even naming their child after Lorelai the First didn't seem to score Emily any points with her mother in law. As much as Emily knew Lorelai the First, didn't like her, it was inconceivable to ask Richard in this way to break off their engagement.

"'_I'm sure that Emily is a very suitable woman for someone, but not for you. She will not be able to make you happy. She does not have the Gilmore stamina or spark. She is simply not a Gilmore. I don't know the circumstances surrounding your breakup with Pennilyn Lott, but it is still my belief that she is much better suited for you than Emily._" Emily's voice started breaking, "_I know that the timing of this is particularly awkward, since you are to be married tomorrow, but your happiness is too important to me, so timing be damned.' _I can't believe this, the day before our wedding she begged you in writing, proclaiming that I was not suitable! At least I didn't marry my second cousin! She begged you to leave me at the altar!" Emily was outraged. "How can you sit there so smug?" as she crossed her arms, trying not to look at the activity outside.

Richard simply said, "Because I didn't leave you at the alter."

Emily's head snapped toward her husband of nearly 30 years.

"And she didn't object when the preacher asked, she didn't cause a scene at the reception, she simply respected my choice, respected that my opinion, my decision was different from her own. You know how I value mother's opinion, but despite her disapproval I married you…because I loved you." Richard watched Emily as she softened, "and she was wrong, Emily. Over the years you have made me immensely happy. You are more alike than my mother might think, and you are certainly a fine Gilmore," Richard smiled, playing on her pride. "Couldn't you, just for one day, for the sake of our daughter, put that pride aside and share in her happiness? In Rory's happiness?"

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**Localizy sounds off:  
Localizy waves to everyone from her couch surrounded by gingerale and tissues...whats she saying**

**oh yeah, localizy, I'll tell them, she says review**

…**and remember that this is fanfiction people, taking the characters from the show and making them do what we want.**

**PS don't forget to review her noble work, what can I say… thank you!**

**77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you NON POD Luke!  
7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 **

**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund...


	50. Bright Future

**Written in the Stars  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. **

**R/R: Yes, please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary/ The Q: AW If you DON'T KNOW BY NOW! HURUMPH! **

**LUVZ: I MISS YOU MOST OF ALL SCARECROW!**

**FEATURED BETA: Localizy, _WONDER TWIN POWERS ACTIVATE_**

**A/N: OKAY, FRIENDLY DISCLAIMER: this is my first LL wedding… I usually just write about them having sex all the time…LOL I hope you like and need a box of Kleenex.**

**To my crack whores, I started this as a one shot who knew!**

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**CHAPTER 50:  
Bright Future**

On the morning of the wedding, Mia took a break from the preparations to deliver a note to Luke at the diner. After quickly reading its contents, Luke went directly to the Crap Shack, wondering why his presence was requested. Using his key, he opened the door and walked in with a hand over his eyes, as to not see any bridal clothes or the bride before the wedding. Spending so many hours here he now had the lay out memorized and was surprised at how quiet the house was on a busy morning like their wedding.

"Umm hello?" he called into the stillness.

"In here," Rory's voice called back to him.

Luke took the instinctive steps to his new daughter's room, "Rory?"

Rory giggled at him, "Mom's not here, you can take your hand away."

Now feeling somewhat stupid, he did as he was told and saw Rory sitting on her bed in her room, her hair all done up with flowers woven in it and her dress was blue and perfect.

"What's up?" he asked as if it was any other day.

"Luke?"

"Yeah?" he sat down beside her.

"I know you really love mom."

"Yes I do," he smiled at her observation. "I hope you know I love you too."

"I know," she nodded, "and, well, the feeling is mutual."

"Okay?" Luke smiled.

"Luke …"

"Yes Rory?"

"Since…technically by law you are my father …do you think…it would be alright if … maybe one day… I called you … dad?" she asked hesitantly, her puppy eyes shining up at him with hope.

"If you want to, that would make me very happy," he could barely get out through his swell of emotions.

Rory hugged Luke around his middle, "You are going to be a great dad, well, you already are."

"Thanks." Smiling, he hugged the girl that was now his adopted daughter and kissed the top of her head, hoping not to disturb any of her flowers.

"I love you, Luke."

"I love you too, Rory."

Rory took a deep breath to hold back happy tears, "Okay, let's get you two crazy kids hitched," with an enormous amount of excitement and she hopped off her bed, to get her bouquet from her desk.

Not that Luke was nervous, but he had to ask, "Umm where is your mom? I thought she'd be getting ready?"

"Oh, I wanted to talk to you so mom used me as misdirection…"

"What?" Luke's stomach dropped, as he feared that Lorelai had changed her mind.

"While you came here, it got you away from the diner long enough to sneak her into Patty's without you seeing her or the dress. Miss Patty's is her prep room since its closer to the square but its right across from you and the diner…and you couldn't see her… so…"

Luke laughed at the attention to detail, "Let's go."

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Miss Patty offered her dance studio for Lorelai to use as a dressing/waiting room for the ceremony in the square. Mia and Carly had successfully snuck her in when the signal that Luke was well on his way down the street to the house came in the form of Kirk, running down the street yelling Patty's name, Patty merely rolled her eyes at Kirk's lack of discretion. Mia and Carly were now running about, as the wedding planners, giving attention to all the final details and putting out fires as things arose, so all Lorelai had to worry about was actually getting married.

Lorelai was excited but nervous. It was ridiculous, all she had to do was stand around and look beautiful, and for all of the countless weddings she had run at the Inn, this was probably the least stressful job to have on the big day. Even so, she paced around the small studio in her dress, then fearing it would snag on something she immediately sat down again, but then unable to sit still Lorelai rose and took a turn about the small studio again. She would pick up her bouquet and practice holding it; then when she realized how she was nervously fidgeting with it she would put it down as to not uproot the flowers from their base. She would examine herself in the mirror, looking for flaws, wondering if her constant putting on and taking off the dress had loosened any of her meticulously placed beads on the bodice. She stared at her image wondering if she chose the right veil, if she should have worn her hair down instead of in a bun with loose strands streaming down the sides of her face. She was briefly terrified Luke would hate the dress and not marry her until she got a new one. _It's just nerves; calm down… all you have to say is 'I do'… just walk up the aisle and say 'I do'. Well, not during that 'if anyone sees just cause why these two should not be joined…' OH God, what if someone sees just cause…what if Christopher shows up… or Emily shows up and causes a scene? Or Judge Garland takes back the adoption! OH GOD… what if some crazy lady in a moo-moo shows up claiming to be bearing Luke's child_…

Lorelai was startled when Miss Patty's side door opened and sunlight came streaming in. All Lorelai could see for a moment was a silhouette of a man in a tux. "Luke, you can't see me. It's bad luck," she said almost starting to panic, then when her eyes adjusted the mystery man closed the door again, she saw it was Richard Gilmore. "Dad?" Lorelai gasped.

As Richard turned around he took in the sight of his only daughter, was overcome with emotion and excitement. He was speechless for a moment and then all he could say was, "You look…absolutely beautiful."

Lorelai smiled at the compliment, but self-consciously smoothed her hands down the beading of the bodice again, "Thank you." She almost laughed at the situation, at a loss for seeing him there of all places, "What are you doing here?"

"You know how your mother and I disagree from time to time and while I feel it best to put family disagreements and squabbles aside on occasions such as these, today I decided I had to let my feelings be known to you and to your mother."

Lorelai swallowed hard, worried at the words to come, but let him continue.

"Emily wanted me to remain beside her and only sit and watch the ceremony," he complained, then his tone softened. "However, well, I feel on this day my place is here… with you." Trying to contain himself and not to tear up in front of his daughter, Richard delicately stated, "You are my only daughter and this is your wedding day, so I thought if you'd let me… I'd like to give you away to this worthy man you've found."

Lorelai rushed at her father and met him in a hug. "Thank you, Daddy," she whispered in his ear hoping her make up wouldn't look too terrible.

He stepped back from his daughter again, and Richard decreed, "I only hope he deserves you."

"He does," then Lorelai laughed tearfully. "I only hope the reverse is true."

The door slid open again and this time Rory entered in her blue dress, "Grandpa? What are you doing here?" She was naturally surprised since Mia had never given them a clear answer on if the Gilmores were coming or not.

Lorelai smiled, "Well, he is going to walk me down the aisle."

Rory's already huge smile doubled, "Really?" She too rushed at her grandpa and gave him a rare hug in their relationship. "Thank you."

The affection shown to him by the girls was truly heartfelt and meaningful to Richard and he wondered why he had exiled himself from these wonderful girls for so long.

Rory went to her mother to hug her in her excitement. "Mom, it's all turning out just like you promised. Just like a movie!"

Mia then came bustling in, "I tell you there isn't something quite right about that Kirk boy. Gracious Lorelai what have you done to your makeup…and you have a man in here? A final fling before your wedding? With an older man? Whatever would Luke say?"

"Mia, this is my father," Lorelai was about to introduce him, when Mia interrupted.

"Ah Richard, correct? We've been expecting you. Lorelai, if you don't mind I have to find Carly to fix your face, so sit down and try and stop crying till at least after the pictures…"

Lorelai had to laugh at Mia's rapid pace out of the studio, then realized something turning to her father. "Wait? She knew you were coming?" she turned to her father.

"Well, it's only polite to RSVP, speaking of which," Richard went to the door and waved someone over. Lorelai was stuck to silence again as Emily, who seemed to be swallowing her pride, entered the dance studio. She was dressed in a champagne colored A-line dress, holding a box.

"Mom?" in awe that some how her father had talked Emily into attending when she was so decided against an appearance.

Emily seemed to examine her daughter, "Well, I'm glad you decided to buy your dress."

Lorelai chuckled and exchanged a knowing glance with Rory since she did in fact make her dress.

"I like your hair," Emily said primly, noting Lorelai's perfect bun and loose strands.

"Thank you," Lorelai didn't know what to expect.

"You know, I had always pictured you getting married in the winter," Emily mused over the summer wedding, "You always loved snow so much," walking over to the table where she placed the box. "I pictured snow white roses, you arriving in a horse drawn sleigh," Then she sighed, "But I suppose a summer wedding works too." Emily noted the two length veil Lorelai wore that was fixed at the top of her bun, "If you like, I brought this for you," stiffly gesturing to the box.

"What is it?" Lorelai had to admit she was curious.

"My tiara."

"Your what?"

"It's the tiara I wore on my wedding day," Emily swallowed any emotion that may have leaked out. "It might look nice… with your veil."

"Thank you, mom," Lorelai smiled and actually hugged her mother too.

Emily let a small smile escape and quickly left to take her place at the front on the bride's side.

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15 minutes before the ceremony was scheduled to begin, Sookie ran Lorelai through her checklist, "Okay. Something new?"

Lorelai answered as though she was on a game show. "My dress, since I made it."

"Check. Something old?"

"Well, his mother's ring. Does that count?"

"Sure, Check. Something blue?"

"My… undergarments," Lorelai offered shyly with a coy smile, as Rory giggled at her because any mention of underwear is funny to a twelve year old. "Technically they are new and blue."

"Okay, that is definitely a check. Something borrowed?"

Lorelai looked over at the tiara her mother had left, the one her mother wore when she got married.

Lorelai opened the box and examined the tiara, "Check."

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In the square, there wasn't a bad seat for the festivities. There were four aisle ways that led to the Gazebo where the ceremony was to take place.

The music started and everyone smiled as Sookie and Rory made their way down the aisle towards Luke and his wedding party, Jess fidgeting as the ring-bearer pulling at his tie and trying not to drop the pillow. Everyone rose as the music cued and stood smiling as Richard walked Lorelai down the aisle. As Lorelai met the smiles of her friends and neighbors, she could tell her mother was touched most of all that she decided to use her tiara.

Luke shook Richard's hand, and took Lorelai's hand from Richard. Luke looked his bride over and whispered, "You made this?" Lorelai had to chuckle at his timely observation and at how his eyes opened in awe over her elaborate dress. Luke led Lorelai up the stairs of the gazebo to Reverend Skinner, to where everyone could see the bride and groom.

Reverend Skinner addressed all of the guests; "I'm very pleased you all could join us for this special event. I am even more pleased that I am the one with the honor to preside over this happy occasion. I've known Luke all his life and I can tell you it's about time he found the right girl to settle down with. Many of us have known Lorelai and Rory for years; they have charmed us, made us laugh, and it seems only natural that they would tame our sometimes gruff diner owner."

"We were there to watch it all happen. In fact, that is what makes this occasion even more special for us all. We are not only joining this man to this woman, but we are joining a family together as well. It may not be a traditional family, but as Lorelai put it to me the other day they are a family by heart. They found each other and they all created an unbreakable bond of love, of caring and understanding, which is what a true family should be."

"Now Luke, Lorelai, please join hands…"

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After the ceremony, the photographer stole the wedding party away for photos while Mia and her crackerjack crew transformed the area around the gazebo to a reception area, complete with buffet, featuring food by the talented Sookie St. James, and dance floor, in record time. To the many compliments, especially from Emily Gilmore, Mia proudly stated, "Not my first wedding." The photographer seemed rather honored to capture the first family photos of the Danes' and let the girls pose as many times as they wanted, while he enjoyed the happy, joyful atmosphere.

The reception was so lively that even Mrs. Kim broke into a smile at the antics of not only the bride and groom, but the rest of the guests. The bride and groom walked around the tables, receiving the warm wishes from all their guests. When DJ introduced the couple for their first dance Lorelai felt like they were the only two on earth, even though a thousand eyes were upon them. They had done it, taken the big plunge, gotten married, the old ball and chain; they were now husband and wife. For the life of her she didn't know why this had been such a scary prospect before. She knew the real work was probably the everyday life, but she and Luke had been dealing with the day-to-day piddly problems since they moved in together so she was confident that they could handle whatever was thrown at them, as a family.

Between dinner and dessert, the time for speeches began and Luke surprised everyone by speaking first at the microphone with an unusually huge smile on his face. "Many of you know me as a man of few words," he said good-humored and sarcastically while there was a collective jeering groan over his ranting reputation at town meetings. "But I have to say honestly on this day, with my new family," Luke looked at Lorelai and Rory, then back at the crowd, "I have no complaints," he said simply, and pulled the microphone away from his face to kiss Lorelai for the crowd as they applauded and cheered.

Lorelai was still glowing, beaming, and was so giddy and happy that she could barely get out her little planned speech, though she attempted to stay composed. "I want to thank you all for coming." Lorelai looked directly at her mother, "It means so much to me to have _all_ of you here to share in this happy, happy day."

"Well, this year has been a year of firsts for us, Luke was the first boy I brought home to Rory, and luckily he made a good first impression, otherwise we wouldn't be here today. It was the first time Rory got the Chicken Pox, the first time Luke had to deal with a sick child, it was the first time we read _Dorian Gray_ together and hopefully our last! There were many firsts this year, first cups of coffee, first burgers, first date, first day of school, and first Thanksgiving and Christmas, the first time Luke met my parents…and he survived," she exclaimed and the crowd laughed at her joke knowing many stories of Richard and Emily. "It really only took a few months till I was addicted to his coffee and that was the reason why I knew I had to make up with him quickly after a fight other wise I'd get the shakes," and the crowd laughed again. "Thanks to this event, it looks like we will have many more holidays and birthdays together. A few of our traditions had to be tweaked or modified so Luke would feel welcome, like a part of the family, but hopefully in our life together, we will get to start new traditions together. There were a lot of firsts this year, but for the first time ever Rory got to celebrate father's day."

There was a quiet murmur of the crowd, a rumble of realization.

Only Lorelai could steal her own thunder, "I am happy to announce that the state of Connecticut has named Luke Danes as Rory's adoptive father, so it is legal and official… we are a family."

There was a swelling cheer from the neighbors and more congratulations as Lane cued the DJ to play _"We Are Family"_ by Sister Sledge

Lorelai's face was crinkled up with happiness at all her friends rushing to her to congratulate the new family.

Over the microphone she announced, "Alright settled down, and let's have some cake!"

Luke begrudgingly held with tradition and let Lorelai feed him his first bite, which she got all over his face in her mischievous way, however she didn't expect Luke to return the favor so playfully in front of everyone. Their faces were smeared with icing and cake crumbs, and with his clean hand Luke pulled Lorelai towards him to meet in a sweet, sticky kiss. Mia quickly instructed the photographer to capture the moment then provided the couple with cloth napkins to clean up while cake was served to their guests.

Lorelai danced with Luke again, as Richard spun Rory around the floor in a wave of her blue dress. Everyone was dancing, save for Emily Gilmore, whom Lorelai saw over Luke's shoulder. She seemed to be pouting, yet wore a strange proud smile. Lorelai waved to her, Emily merely nodded in return. Richard offered Emily his hand for a dance, which she accepted, and Rory took to dancing with Jess and Lane and a few other kids from school in a group. Lorelai had to laugh when Richard dipped Emily to coax a genuine smile out of his wife.

Luke whispered in Lorelai's ear, "I love you."

"I love you too," smiling at her parents, thinking of how Luke and her could now have thirty years or more together.

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After dancing and a little too much excitement, Rory decided to stay over at Lane's rather that stay and wait for her parents…_parents_, she thought in excitement, still happy over the marriage. When she skipped over to tell Lorelai and Luke she was staying at Lane's, Lorelai's expression went from shocked to confused until she caught Sookie's eye. At Sookie's wink and nod, Lorelai realized that she would have a wedding night, without the hidden worry that her daughter would accidentally witness anything scarring. With a large grin, she grabbed Luke and continued to spin around the dance floor in the arms of her husband.

It was late when they got home from the reception. With Babette urging in the background and Lorelai's insistence Luke carried Lorelai over the threshold as she giggled and mocked him, "Come on Danes put your back in to it." He even posed for the picture for Babette's camera, trying not to roll his eyes as she took the shot.

Even though Luke and Lorelai had a plane to catch in the morning, they still got a head start on their honeymoon, starting with Lorelai having to talk her new husband through how to get his wife out of her dress.

They lay in bed, like they had maybe a hundred times before with one difference, "Hello husband."

"Hello wife."

"I missed you," Lorelai gave her new husband a squeeze.

"Yeah, but I think you were right; restraining ourselves made today even better."

"It seemed to go so slow," Lorelai giggled as she gazed at her two rings on her left hand, "It's funny. Nothings really changed."

"What do you mean?" Luke asked his new wife.

The bride explained, "Well, I mean this is how things were before… you living here… Rory conked out, granted at a friend's house; us making love to the point of exhaustion." Lorelai kissed the groom again and kept right on kissing him.

"Lorelai," Luke mumbled between pecks. "We have a plane to catch in the morning…"

"You mean later today," and her hands went exploring her new husband beneath the sheet again.

"Whatever, we can't… stay up all night."

"I'll sleep on the plane."

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Sookie and Rory escorted the newlyweds to the airport in Hartford. Lorelai was fine till she got to the gate and then quite suddenly she didn't want to go to Hawaii with her new husband.

"I don't want to go," she nearly whined to her daughter out of earshot of her husband, who wore a perplexed glare wondering what the hold up was since their plane was boarding.

"Mom, he's your husband… you like Luke remember."

"I do, it's just that well we've never really been apart before…" gesturing between mother and daughter.

"Mom, I'll be fine. I'm staying with Sookie, so you know I'll be well fed."

"It's the unharmed I'm worried about," Lorelai whispered. "She's a bit clumsy. Are you sure you don't wanna come?"

Rory droned, "Mom, it's your honeymoon. You and Luke should be alone. Besides when you come home we will be together for every day after, okay?"

"Okay," Lorelai smiled. "Thank you kid for letting me date him."

"Thank you for getting me a worthy dad."

With that final reassurance, they rejoined Sookie and Luke to say goodbye.

"I love you," Rory hugged her new father. "Have fun and a word of advice, give her your peanuts."

"Okay thanks," Luke chuckled hugging his daughter goodbye.

As they boarded the plane, Lorelai started snickering, "Do you think we could get a flying horse?"

"What? You mean like a Pegasus?" the groom furrowed his brow.

"Yeah," the bride nodded.

"Why?"

"Well, we are flying west, into the sunset, like a happy ending. We need a horse to ride on and we can't get to Hawaii with a mustang; the horse or the car. Well maybe if we got that one from Grease."

Luke rolled his eyes, wondering how he fell in love with such a woman, but still enjoyed the prospect of a week in Hawaii with his wife and for everyday after.

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**Not the End,**

**The Beginning  
(Remember: BIG PLANS!)  
TBC in WITS II (Written In The Stars II) **

**Beta Notes: Hi, my name is Localizy and I am the beta for Debbie. This chapter would have been out way way sooner, but I was in a car accident that apparently I was lucky to walk away from, then I got the flu. Don't blame Debbie for this taking so long, it isn't her fault. **

**I have been saving these words since about March for ASP, then she will be erased from my mind like Arnold in Eraser. _"Now, shall you deal with ME, ASP - and all the powers of HELL! AHAHAHAHAHA, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"_**

**That felt better. Now review and be nice, you don't want me to unleash that on you now, DO YOU!**

**A/N: Thank you all for reading this story… OMG, I finished a story… has ASP frozen over… LOL no such luck (grumble grumble grumble)**

**(Remember: BIG PLANS!) Thank you to all who reviewed (especially to any one who reviewed every single chapter); Special thanks to Lola (who to my knowledge is not a show girl), Rachel aka orangesherbet7, I'm more of a raspberry sorbet kind of girl. Professor (where's mary anne?) and to Sarah, my special little crack whore who worships me in a totally healthy, non-stalkerish way. thank you, (bows) thank you.**

**EXTRA SPECIAL SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS THANKS and rice crispy treats to LOCALIZY for cracking the whip (DIRTY) and putting up with persnickety me, being an AWESOME BETA, FRIEND, and muse, without whom I'd still be vacantly staring at my computer screen most likely drooling on myself.**

**and to LuvzsAFunEthing, we still think of you often and miss you terribly.**

**(Remember: BIG PLANS!) **

**A/N: Where I currently stand on GG: I can't watch it, please don't talk to me about it unless LL are married or Lorelai is prego with Luke's baby! Other wise, don't talk to me about the CW (C CRAP FOR CRAP Whatever it's called now) I'm just going to try and leave Salem behind and write my own BETTER incarnations. **

**I've been following the band The Massacoustics since I was 17(when they were the Thompson brothers band), and its like they see inside my soul, this instance is no exception**

**This is what I want to say… to all of you TRUE JAVA JUNKIE LL FANS who are disappointed like me to the writers who refused to give us what we wanted, who are so out of touch they don't even understand our outrage or why we now hate Lorelai (gee, because I didn't feel sorry for her because this is her dishwashing liquid now she has to soak in it!) **

**This is what I imagine Luke would say… if he was the REAL Luke that we knew it the first 5 seasons and if he had a guitar…and if he miraculously took her back after her dreadful lapse in judgment…**

**Unfortunately, I, Debbie, have never been good at letting go…**

**Letting Go by The Massacoustics**

**_A kiss goodbye  
One for the road  
This time you were going for good I was sure_**

**_Another's love  
Led to my demise  
It's been three long years and I'm no more the wise_**

**_But if you can hear me now  
And you feel the way I do  
You can come to me  
I won't past judgment on you  
Cause your memory it lingers and the time moves so slow  
I've never been that good at letting go..._**

**_Looking back  
As I often do  
I can't find one bad thing to say about you_**

**_Little steps  
Never get me far  
I could turn it around if I knew just where you are _**

**_If you can hear me now  
And you feel the way I do  
You can come to me  
I won't past judgment on you  
Cause your memory it lingers and the time moves so slow  
I've never been that good at letting go..._**

**_(Break)_**

**_If you can hear me now  
And you feel the way I do  
You can come to me  
I won't past judgment on you  
Cause your memory it lingers and the time moves so slow  
I've never been that good at letting go..._**

**_I've never been that good at letting go..._**

**Thank you Crack Whores and stay tuned, MORE DELIGHTFUL FANFICTION TO COME! (Remember: BIG PLANS!) **

**PS AW HELL, PURPLE RIBBON! **

**(Remember: BIG PLANS! Be on the lookout for …WITS II) **

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"That was all God given talent..." why thank you NON POD Luke!  
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**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund...**


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